Among The Missing
by MelodyAnne
Summary: FUTURE FIC What happens when Sydney disappears unexpectedly and Vaughn is left to protect what she left behind AND the obligation to find her? [COMPLETE]
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
A/N: To read this story, you might want to go read chapters 13 through the end of my other story, The Telling Told. It's based on some stuff that I put in there, but you can understand this without reading it, I think. What it basically comes down to is whether you know what happened to Laura when she was a baby or not. If you do go back and read my other story, you may have to back as far as chapter 8 to make sense of it, or you may not.  
  
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I am Laura Emily Vaughn. I sit quietly in my plane seat, watching my younger brother, Brandon Daniel Vaughn. He's scribbling on a sheet of paper. We are moving. Again.  
  
My mother woke us early this morning so we could finish our packing. Even though we've been planning the move for a week, I haven't been allowed to tell anyone, so I couldn't have missed the whole week of school to pack. Six-year-old Brandon was kept home from his kindergarten class this week, and I know my mother told his teacher he had chicken pox.  
  
He's almost the same age I was the first time.  
  
*******FLASHBACK*******  
  
"Mommy, why are you putting my toys in that box?"  
  
"We're going away," Mommy says.  
  
"Like a vacation?"   
  
"Almost."  
  
"Where's Daddy? Isn't he coming?"  
  
"No, Sweetie, Daddy isn't coming. He has to stay here."  
  
"Is Brandon staying too? He cries too much, he's too little."  
  
"Brandon is coming. Now be a good girl and finish putting your toys in here, okay? You're seven, practically grown up."   
  
*******END*******  
  
I didn't get to say good-bye to Daddy. I wasn't awake when he got up to leave for his job at the bank. I was in bed when he got home the night before.  
  
Brandon doesn't even remember Daddy. He was too little.   
  
I remember him. He would always play with me when he was home. He went on trips for the bank a lot, so there were times when he wasn't home.  
  
I wasn't allowed to tell anybody good-bye, like every other time. I won't be able to talk to them later, either.   
  
Mom told me when I was only seven that I could never mention Daddy to Brandon, and I could never tell anyone Grandpa's name, and I could never tell anyone that my name used to be Laura Vaughn.  
  
I'm Laura Jones to the world. I have been since I was seven. Brandon is Brandon Jones. And Mom is Sydney Jones.   
  
"Mom, where are we going this time?" I ask.  
  
"California," she replies.  
  
That's where we *used* to live! In LA!  
  
"Are we going home? Are we going to see Daddy?" I ask, excited now.  
  
"No. I've told you about mentioning your father!" Mom says sharply.   
  
"Sorry, Mommy." It is a phrase I've used since I was seven, every time I mention something or someone I'm not supposed to. I always sound so little when I say it.   
  
"Mom, why do we keep moving?" This is our fifth move since the first one.  
  
"Someday, I'll tell you, Laura, but not now. I know you think you're grown up at thirteen, but you've got a long way to go," Mom teases.  
  
"When, Mom? I'm old enough to hear some of it, I'm sure. If you don't tell me, I'll find out on my own," I threaten.   
  
"Not here," she says, looking around the crowded plane. I know she hopes I don't notice, but I do. "We'll talk about it when we get to the house," she promises.  
  
"But Mom…"  
  
"Laura, I will, I promise. But Brandon doesn't need to know any of this."  
  
"Okay," I relent.   
  
I take one of Brandon's coloring books and start coloring a picture of one of the Ninja Turtles.  
  
"Hey!" he cries. "That's Michael Angelo! His headband isn't Pink!"  
  
"I don't care. It is now."  
  
"Mommy!"  
  
Why does he have to drag Mom into this?  
  
"Brandon, it doesn't really matter. May be Michael Angelo got tired of…the same old color," Mom says, realizing she doesn't know what color his headband is supposed to be.   
  
I laugh softly.  
  
"What?" Mom asks, hearing me anyway.  
  
"Mom, what color *is* his headband?" I can't help it. Mom makes it so easy some times.  
  
She throws one of those little airplane packets of peanuts at me.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Brandon whines. He's tired quickly of his coloring books, and they've been thrown on the floor.  
  
"Soon, baby," Mom says, giving him a picture book to look at.  
  
"How long?" I ask quietly.  
  
"An hour," she mumbles.  
  
I pull out my CD player and choose a particularly loud Dixie Chicks CD.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Sydney pulls into the driveway of the little house in the rented BMW that Laura likes so much. She makes sure to inform her that their sedan will be there tomorrow.  
  
The house is less than an hour from LA, but that is why it is the last place anyone expects to find her. Michael, as she'd finally become accustomed to calling him after Laura's homecoming, would never think to look for her here.  
  
Sydney notices that Laura seems more upset by this move than by the others. She is afraid to tell her daughter too much about her past life, but she has to tell her something. She won't lie to her daughter. She's sure Laura's first question will be about her father.  
  
As she forces Brandon to help unpack his clothes, she worries about what Brandon heard his sister say.   
  
"Why did we have to move?" he asks suddenly.  
  
"Mommy got a new job. I'm going to be a teacher at *your* school," she says, hoping to deter any further questions. It works.  
  
"Wow! Really! That's so cool! Everyone will be so jealous!" he cries. Brandon commences to question her about the school until she tells him to go play.  
  
Having completed the task of organizing her son's room, she goes to help Laura unpack her things. The first thing Laura says when her mother walks in is, "Can we talk now?"  
  
Sydney sighs, then sits on the bed and directs Laura to do the same.  
  
"I want to know about Daddy," she says instantly. "Why can't I talk about him? Why didn't he come when we left LA? Why did we change our name?…"  
  
"Whoa. One question at a time." She is silent for a moment, deciding what to say.   
  
"Someone threatened us. It was, in a way, because of your father, and I thought at the time that I had to get away from him to keep you and your brother safe. I thought the only way to keep you safe was to run away," she explains.  
  
"Did Daddy do something wrong? Was he in trouble? Was he a criminal?" she cries, alarmed.  
  
"No, no baby. Your Daddy was a good man." She pauses. "He was in the CIA. The criminals were threatening us." In actuality, it had been Sloane. But if she told Laura that, she'd have to tell her about her own involvement in the agency, and she wasn't ready for that yet.  
  
"Daddy was a…a secret agent? But he worked at a bank!" Laura protests.  
  
"That was his cover, honey. Your dad and I learned the hard way that it's not smart to tell people things like this," Sydney says, thinking of Danny.   
  
"So…They threatened us, and then you found out he was an agent, and you left?" Laura asks, trying to understand.  
  
"No, I knew about that a long time before that. I left because I didn't think you were safe there anymore," Sydney says. Her voice shakes slightly, but not so much so that Laura doesn't notice.  
  
"Are you sorry? That you left, I mean?"  
  
"Sometimes. But other times, I think, you might have been hurt if I'd stayed. And I don't want that, so I feel like I had to leave. I miss him, yes."  
  
"If you miss him and we're this close, why don't you go see him?"  
  
"You remember living in LA?"   
  
"Yeah. Of course."  
  
"But you were so little…"  
  
"I was seven. Practically grown up," Laura quotes with a smile.   
  
"Okay. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I remembered being that young."  
  
"What did you remember?"  
  
The innocent question makes Sydney's blood run cold. She can't tell Laura about Project Christmas, but she refuses to lie to her daughter.  
  
"That was right after my mother died," Sydney says instead.   
  
"What was her name?"  
  
Sydney almost gives her mothers real name, but gives her alias instead.   
  
"Laura Bristow."  
  
"Am I named after her?"  
  
"Yes. You are named after the mother I lost when I was six years old," she emphasizes, hoping Laura will remember this if she ever discovers that her grandmother is Irina Derevko. Laura gives her a strange look, noting her mother's tone.  
  
"Mom? How *did* you find out Daddy was an agent?"  
  
Strike Three.  
  
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So, what do you think so far? I hope it's not going to be too weird, telling part of the story in first person and the rest in third…  
  
Anyway, tell me what you think! Constructive criticism welcomed! 


	2. Found

Chapter 1: Found  
  
Disclaimer: I only own Laura and Brandon. Unfortunately, everyone else belongs to J.J. Abrams.  
  
A/N: This is going well, and I think it's starting off better than my other fic did. May be I'll get more readers this time…  
  
A/N: For ProvineSea's benefit, strike one was Laura asking about Project Christmas inadvertently, strike two was asking about Sydney's mother, and strike three was Laura asking about how her mother found out Vaughn was an agent…May be that answered someone else's questions as well…  
  
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"That's enough for now," Sydney says quickly, standing up. "I'll explain it more when you're older. You wouldn't understand any of it now." And some of it you'll never understand, she adds to herself.  
  
"But Mom, you said…"  
  
"I said I'd explain some of it!" Sydney says sharply.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I'm more confused than ever now. Why does Mom always get mad when I ask about anything before I was seven years old? I'm determined to find out. I don't know how. If I can just remember Daddy's first name…or even Grandpa's name. He might know Daddy.  
  
I'll start the new school tomorrow. Brandon won't start until the next day, when Mom starts her job. I might try to search Mom's study when I get home. I might find a letter, a picture, *something* to help me find out what I want to know.  
  
But first I have to get through the first day in a new school.  
  
My day starts off normal enough. Get up at six. Eat a bowl of corn flakes with extra sugar. Catch the bus, even though it runs a little later than my previous bus.  
  
But the school is HUGE compared to any of the schools I've been to before. This school holds all of sixth through twelfth grade. I have to ask three people for directions before I finally find the office.   
  
"Um, I'm Laura Jones," I tell the woman sitting at a desk. "I just transferred here."  
  
"Oh, good! Just a second." The woman disappears into the back of the offices and returns moments later with a red-haired, freckle faced girl.   
  
"This is Kacey Marks. She's in seventh grade, too. You are in seventh, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Good. Okay. Kacey, there's still a while before the bell, why don't you show Laura around?"  
  
"Sure, Mrs. Taylor," Kacey says. "Come on."  
  
She seems friendly enough. In fact, I kind of like her.  
  
"So, where'd you come from?" Kacey asks as we walk down the hall.  
  
"A little town in Texas," I say. "My mom got a job here, so we moved." Or, I assume that's why we moved. "She's teaching at the elementary school. My little brother is in kindergarten there."  
  
"Really? I have a brother in kindergarten. What class is he in?"  
  
"I don't know. He doesn't start until tomorrow."  
  
"Oh. Well, this is the library, and the cafeteria is a the end of that hall…"  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Mike, get over here."  
  
Vaughn grips his cell phone harder.  
  
"What is it Weiss?"  
  
"Just get over here. You have to see this to believe it."  
  
"Okay, I'm on my way."  
  
At least this time it sounds like something big, Vaughn thinks. Weiss has called him up every time they found *anything* on Sydney and the kids. But they usually found that she'd disappeared by the time they found her.  
  
Weiss meets him as he walks in.  
  
"Mike, we've found them! Look at this!" he says, gesturing at three sheets of paper.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Look. This is a list of every student at the middle school down south. There's a Laura Jones registered there."  
  
"So?"  
  
"Here's the roster from the elementary school there. Brandon Jones. And there's a Sydney Jones registered there as a teacher. Both kids just transferred from the same place. And the teacher was just hired." Weiss looks at Vaughn. "This is real! We found 'em!"  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I'm sitting in my room catching up on some science homework when I see the van pull up in front of our house.  
  
"Mom, there's someone here!" I call.  
  
"Brandon, Laura, GET DOWN HERE!" Mom yells after a long pause. "NOW!"   
  
"Mom? What's wrong? What is it?" I call as I run down the stairs.  
  
"Laura," she says, griping my arm so hard it hurts. "Take your brother, go hide in the backyard, in the bushes. Go! Before they see you! Brandon, COME HERE! Laura, don't come out or say anything until I come get you, understand? Not until I come get you!"  
  
I nod, my eyes wide. This is scary. Mom would never act like this for any reason.  
  
"Yes, Momma. What's going on? Who are they?"  
  
"Go! Before they see you! DON'T LET THEM SEE YOU!" Mom shouts.   
  
I nod again and grab Brandon's hand. By some miracle, he doesn't fight. Some instinct makes me close the back door quietly.  
  
"In there, Brandon," I say quietly, pushing him into a narrow gap in the shrubs. I follow him quickly.  
  
"Hey! What's going on, Laurie?" he asks.  
  
"I don't know, please just be quiet," I tell him as we crouch in the shrub.   
  
"NO!" we hear Mom scream.  
  
"Someone's hurting Mommy!" Brandon whimpers as we huddle closer together.  
  
"Shh!" I hiss. I'm just as scared as he is.  
  
We hear our mother scream once more, an ear-piercing scream, and then all is quiet. The silence is eerie. I feel the tears rolling down my face. I feel Brandon's trembling form huddled next to me. I feel my arms wrapped around him…  
  
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Oh no! What happened to Sydney? Who was it? What is to become of her kids…  
  
Don't you just hate me? Hehehe…  
  
Please review, even if it is only to rant and rave about how I shouldn't have stopped ^_^ 


	3. Daddy

Chapter 2: Daddy  
  
Disclaimer: I only own Laura and Brandon, but since it's unlikely that the show will ever get this far, I have complete liberty to do whatever I want with the characters here.  
  
A/N: I really appreciate reviews…  
  
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"Damn," Weiss mutters as they enter the house, guns drawn.   
  
"You're sure they were here?" Vaughn asks, hopeful that it might have been a mistake.  
  
The house, from the outside, is dark, save one upstairs window. Inside, furniture is overturned, things smashed; there's even a shoe-sized hole in the wall.  
  
Weiss points to the hole.  
  
"Yeah, man. I think we can assume she had something to do with that."  
  
Vaughn sighs.  
  
"There's nobody in here now."  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I hear the cars drive up, but I don't want to scare Brandon. He's still sitting very close to me, even closer now that it's getting dark. He's drifting off from time to time.  
  
Suddenly, our back door flies open. I think Brandon must have jumped three feet into the air as the sound scared him awake. I hold onto him tighter.  
  
"CIA!" a man shouts. "If there's anyone here, show yourselves! We are armed!"  
  
Brandon starts screaming. I shush him, but he continues to scream and yell, "Don't shoot me! Don't shoot me!" over and over.  
  
Someone parts the bushes.  
  
"It's the kids!" a second guy shouts. It's not the same man who yelled from the door.  
  
The first man rushes over and hauls Brandon, still screaming, from the bush.  
  
"Get her out of there, Weiss!" the first guy yells. "Drop the damn gun already! You're scaring them!"  
  
I fight viciously as the man grabs my wrist and pulls me out.  
  
"No! Let me go! Let my brother go! What did you do to my mom? Let me go!" I screech.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Vaughn sees the daughter he hasn't seen in six years giving his partner quite a fight. He cringes as her elbow connects solidly with his jaw. He leaves Brandon, still screaming, on the ground and tackles Laura. As gently as he can without allowing her to knock him out cold, he pins her arms to her sides with her face down on the grass. He stays on top of her.  
  
"God you're strong, Laurie!" he yells above her continued screams.  
  
Laura gasps, gets a mouthful of grass, chokes, and starts coughing. When Vaughn realizes she's stopped fighting, he helps her sit up.  
  
As soon as she can get in a good breath, she says, "Daddy?" It comes out as a pitiful squeak.   
  
"Laurie," he says softly, gently.  
  
"Brandon, stop it," Laurie yells, clenching her fists. "You're fine!"  
  
She stands and jerks him to his feet roughly.  
  
"Hush!" she orders.  
  
He does.  
  
"Daddy? How did you find us? Mom said…"  
  
"What do you know already?" Vaughn interrupts.  
  
Laura looks pointedly at Brandon.  
  
"Will he let Weiss take him inside?" he asks, looking at the defiant little boy. If he wasn't such a little kid he could have been a real problem, Vaughn thinks.  
  
Laura nods.  
  
"Brandon, you go inside with this nice man, okay? He won't hurt you, and I'll be right in," she promises.  
  
The little boy softens.   
  
"Okay Laurie," he says.  
  
Vaughn wonders why he calls his sister Laurie. He was too little to remember *him* calling her that…  
  
"I know you were always in the CIA. Mom told me that, just today. I know that I was named after her mother that died when she was six…" She pauses, trying to remember their conversation. "And she said she was sometimes sorry she left. She was a little surprised that I remembered living in LA."  
  
"She missed me, then?"  
  
"Yeah, a lot, I think."  
  
Vaughn studies her for a long moment.  
  
"Why were you two hiding?" he asks carefully.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I start to cry. I can't help it.  
  
"Something happened. This van pulled up, and Mom went crazy." I show him the bruises that have appeared on my arm. "She told me to take Brandon and go hide. She didn't want us to be seen. She said not to come out until she came to get us. We heard her scream," I say in a small voice. I'm just so scared now. I try not to start sobbing.  
  
Daddy moves to hug me, but I pull away. I can see the hurt in his eyes when I look up.   
  
"Brandon," I say simply, my eyes downcast guiltily.   
  
I have more control when I have to worry about my brother.  
  
Brandon is sitting in a kitchen chair with his knees pulled up to his chin, still trembling.  
  
I sit down and pull him into my lap.   
  
"It's okay," I mumble. "We're okay now. Daddy's here. He'll help us." I look up at him. "Won't you?" I know I must look pitiful, but I don't really care.  
  
"Of course," he says gently, putting his hand on my shoulder.  
  
Then he pulls Weiss out into the hall. I stand silently and put my ear to the door. I'm rarely nosy, but I feel like I should know what's going on.  
  
"Sydney's missing," Daddy says. "Laurie's got bruises on her arm where Syd grabbed her. Syd wouldn't hurt her intentionally. She told the kids to hide and not come out until she came to get them. Weiss, I can only think of three people that she'd react to like that. One, her mother. She's in custody. Two, Sark. He was killed two years ago. Who does that leave?"  
  
"Three," Weiss says sarcastically. "Sloane."  
  
Sloane? Who is that? Why is Mom so afraid of him?  
  
"I can't believe he hasn't croaked yet!" Daddy says. I think he wasn't planning on telling me this for a while. He didn't plan on my hearing this conversation.   
  
"We need to get them out of here," Weiss says softly. "Her name's Laura, right, only you call her Laurie?"  
  
"Only me and her brother," I hear Daddy say as I hurry to sit back down.  
  
Weiss walks into the kitchen.  
  
"Come on, we need to get you two away from here."  
  
Daddy puts his arm around me as I walk out of the kitchen carrying Brandon. This time I don't pull away. I don't want to see the same hurt expression again. He leads me to his car.  
  
"You guys get in back," he tells me. "May be you can get some sleep. It's going to be a long night."  
  
Two generic black sedans pull out of the Jones' driveway and disappear into the night.  
  
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Okay, I personally like this chapter. I really like the way telling it first person is working out, it makes the story so much better. I like telling more about how Laura feels and her observations.  
  
So, what do you think?  
  
Review!!! (Yes, that's an order!) 


	4. Mommy's Secret

Chapter 3: Mommy's Life  
  
Disclaimer: I only own Laura and Brandon. They are MINE and I double dog dare anyone to mess with them!  
  
A/N: Hmm, for once I have nothing to say…  
  
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Brandon soon falls asleep, but Vaughn knows Laura is still awake.  
  
"Laurie? I want to explain some stuff before we get back," he says quietly.  
  
"Hmm?" she mumbles sleepily.  
  
"I'm not the only secret agent in your family."  
  
"What do you mean?" Suddenly, she's wide awake.  
  
"Your mother. Your grandfather. Your grandmother."   
  
"Huh?"  
  
"It's a long story, but it all ties together."  
  
"This is unreal!" Laura whispers in an unnaturally high-pitched voice.   
  
"Yeah, I know. Your mother was only 19 when it started. She was approached at college by a man claiming to be a CIA recruiter. He told her he wanted to recruit her for work at SD-6, a top-secret branch of the CIA. She joined and soon became one of their top agents. But there was one condition. She could never tell anyone what she really did. She felt she couldn't continue to lie to her fiancé, so she told him the truth. The top man at SD-6, Arvin Sloane, had him killed when he found out. Sydney realized then that SD-6 was not part of the CIA. When she approached the real CIA with what she knew, I became her handler. Her assignment was to be a double agent and get information for the CIA. She soon found out that her father was also a double agent, and had been working for the CIA since before Sydney was born. Not long after that, they began to suspect that Sydney's mother didn't really die in the car crash that supposedly killed her when Syd drove her car off a dock." He takes a deep breath and forces himself to continue. "It turns out that Sydney's mother, Laura Bristow, was really a Russian spy who was assigned to get close to an American CIA officer and obtain information about a top secret government project." He decides she doesn't need to know anything else about Project Christmas. "Laura Bristow's real name was, and is, Irina Derevko."  
  
"But mom didn't tell me that! She said she died! She never even *suggested* that she was still alive!" Laura cries, forgetting her brother is asleep.  
  
"I'm sure she didn't know she was going to disappear, or she's have wanted you to know everything," Vaughn says gently.  
  
Laura sits in complete silence for several minutes.   
  
"Why don't we have any pictures of me as a baby?" Laura asks suddenly, voicing the question that's been bothering her since she'd found the old albums while packing the week before.  
  
Vaughn winces slightly.  
  
"I'm not the one to ask about that," he says evasively. "Try your grandmother."  
  
"Irina Derevko," Laura mumbles before she falls into a deep sleep.  
  
"Weiss, keep an eye on them. They're out like lights and I don't want to wake them. They need to sleep while they can. Kendall will probably have them in debrief soon," Vaughn mutters.  
  
Weiss settles down into the front seat of Vaughn's car, thinking it will be easy since the kids are asleep. He doesn't know Brandon.  
  
Brandon wakes up beside his sister with that weird guy in the front seat. He starts screaming instantly.  
  
"Laurie! Help! Wake up! Laurie!…"  
  
"Ugh, Brandon, SHUT UP!" Laura screams. "He's *not* going to hurt you! He's a good guy!"  
  
"Like the turtles?" Brandon asks quietly.  
  
"Yes, like the turtles." She turns to Weiss. "Where's my dad?"  
  
"How much do you know, kid?" he asks.  
  
"My name is Laura, not 'kid'. And I know pretty much everything."  
  
"Okay. He went to talk to the Director. The guy's an ass."  
  
Laura looks pointedly at Brandon, just as he pipes up and says, "That's a bad word. You're gonna be in trouble."  
  
"Uh, sorry," Weiss mutters. Note to self:, he thinks, Don't watch Vaughn's kids.  
  
Laura shrugs and decides it doesn't matter if Brandon hears her question.  
  
"Is this the CIA?" she asks, pointing at the building they're parked in front of.  
  
"Yeah. Part of it," Weiss answers.  
  
"And my mom worked here when she was in college?" she says, more to herself than Weiss.  
  
"Yeah. We worked together some."  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I'm quiet for a long time. Finally I can't stand it any more.  
  
"Where's my mom?" I ask. I feel the tears pool in my eyes, but I *will not* cry.  
  
Weiss turns to look at me. He doesn't answer. I glare at him, but my eyes tear up again and my chin quivers, and I know the look is not very effective.   
  
"I don't know," Weiss says. He's trying to be kind, but it's not working. "But we'll find her. Vaughn won't stop until he does." Somehow, I know he's telling me the truth.  
  
Brandon starts to cry.  
  
"Laurie, where's Mommy? Why are we here? I wanna go home! I WANT MOMMY!"  
  
"Brandon, there's lots of people looking for Mommy right now. Right?" I prompt Weiss.  
  
"Uh, right, lots of people are looking for her. They'll find her. Nobody's going to hurt her."  
  
Brandon screams louder at the suggestion of someone hurting Mom.   
  
"I WANT MOMMY!"  
  
I shoot Weiss a look that clearly says, "Thanks a lot". His expression is a cross between a grimace and an apologetic grin. He shrugs.  
  
"Shh, Brandon. Mommy's okay. She wouldn't want you to be bad, she'd want you to be good for the nice agents. They're going to help us." I consider looking to Weiss for backup, but he'd just make it worse.  
  
"Look! There's your dad!" Weiss says in a desperate attempt to shut Brandon up before Daddy hears him.  
  
Brandon looks at him funny, but he's quiet.  
  
"Laurie, do we have a daddy?" he asks me.  
  
"Yes, he's our Daddy," I tell him, pointing out the window at Daddy.  
  
Weiss jumps out of the car and grins when he tell Daddy, "The boy's just like you."  
  
Daddy says, "I take it that's *not* a compliment."  
  
"Come on," he says to me. "Some men want to see you."  
  
"The director?"  
  
He looks surprised for a split second.  
  
"Oh, you've been talking to Weiss," he says, sounding like he's not so sure that's a good thing. "What did he tell you?"  
  
I can't help it. I have to lighten the mood somehow, and besides, this will shock them.  
  
"That he's an ass," I say clearly, adopting a nonchalant attitude.  
  
Daddy stares at Weiss with a look that clearly says, "You *told* her that?"  
  
Weiss stares at me with his mouth hanging open.  
  
"You'll catch flies like that," I mutter, finally breaking into a grin.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Vaughn realizes she wanted to see how they would react.   
  
She's Sydney's child all right, he thinks.  
  
"Come on," he mutters finally, unable to keep from giving her his lopsided grin.  
  
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Ohhh…How will Vaughn take her joke? Okay it kind of already says that…  
  
That was funny, though, wasn't it? It's something like what I might do to some poor, unsuspecting fool… 


	5. Interrogated By The Ass

Chapter 4: Interrogated by the Ass  
  
Disclaimer: No, unfortunately Alias is not mine. I can only claim credit for the brilliant Laura and average Brandon. Sorry!  
  
A/N: Thanks everybody! This story is going really well so far, I have a lot of reviews and they're all great!   
  
A/N: If you find a type-o, let me know so I can fix it. Just kind of give me a general idea of what I'm looking for.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"These two?" Kendall asks, surprised.   
  
Laura looks down and realizes her own clothes are covered in grass stains, and her hair which she'd once had tied up in a pony tail has fallen to frame her face in a tangled mass. Brandon's clothes are rumpled and dirty from hiding in the shrubs.  
  
"Yes," Vaughn says, his tone warning. "This is Laura, and Brandon. Kids, this is *Director* Kendall." He looks at Laura. She nods almost imperceptibly to show that she understands not to repeat Weiss' comment again. Her slight grin makes him wonder if she was thinking about it.  
  
Actually, Laura was far from it. She's looking around, trying to absorb every detail of the place her mother worked as a student.   
  
Daddy worked…*works* here, too, she reminds her self.  
  
Kendall shakes his head.  
  
"Get them in interrogation two. Both of you report back to me immediately."  
  
"But…" Vaughn begins.  
  
"Leave them and report back to me!" Kendall says firmly.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Brandon whimpers and grips my hand harder as Kendall snaps at Daddy. I just sort of pull him along as we walk to the interrogation room.   
  
Daddy points to a mirror in the room.   
  
"Laura, if Kendall won't let me in here, I'll be watching from there. That's a one way window, so I'll be able to see you, but you won't see me. I'll be able to hear you, too."  
  
I nod obediently.  
  
"Okay. We'll be okay," I promise.   
  
The two of us are left alone in the dimly lit room. The only furniture there is a large wooden table surrounded by intimidating looking wooden chairs.   
  
Soon, Brandon begins whimpering again.  
  
"I don't like it here Laurie. I wanna go home," he begs. He looks so pitiful and forlorn.   
  
"We can't, Brandon."   
  
I settle him in one of the chairs and sit in the one next to him.  
  
"I'm tired," he whines.  
  
"They won't keep us here long. We'll be able to sleep soon." I hope I sound confident, because I sure don't feel it.  
  
Kendall walks in. Now that I really look at him, I decide I definitely don't like him. He glares at us both as if we're criminals, in here because we got caught robbing a bank or something.  
  
"All right, girl…" Kendall begins.  
  
"My name is *not* girl," I interrupt quickly. My mother has taught me to detest being called 'kid' or 'girl'. I don't know why, but I really don't like it.  
  
"And what is your name?" he asks sarcastically. I'm glad he didn't feel the need to add 'little girl' at the end of that. I almost expected it.  
  
"Laura Emily Vaughn!" I spit back, just as hateful as he was sarcastic.   
  
Brandon gives me a funny look.  
  
"That's not our name Laurie," he says innocently.  
  
"Hush, Brandon," I mumble. "He doesn't know our name used to be Vaughn. He only remembers us being the Jones's," I explain, despite the temptation not to.   
  
"I know that," he says shortly. "What happened to your mother?"  
  
I repeat the story again.  
  
"Did you see the guy in the van?"  
  
"No. Only Mom saw him."  
  
"And she screamed?"  
  
"Yes." I have to pause to stop the tears. "The first time she yelled, 'no'. Like someone grabbed her or something. The second time…I think they…hurt her."  
  
"Mommy was scared before she made us go outside," Brandon pipes up. "I think she was gonna cry. I didn't think Mommy was scared of anything." His eyes are wide and him lower lip quivers.  
  
Finally, he stars to cry. I pull him onto my lap and rock with him gently. I glare over Brandon's shoulder at Kendall. If only looks could kill…  
  
"Can we go now?" I snap. "He's only a little kid. He shouldn't be here anyway."  
  
"Stay here." Kendall gets up and leaves.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Vaughn is already in the hall by the time Kendall steps out of the room.  
  
"To be honest," Kendall says, "I haven't had anyone brave enough to use that tone with me since Agent Bristow left."  
  
Vaughn ignores him and walks into the room. He sees Laura quickly wipe away tears before she turns around.  
  
"You'll stay with me tonight," Vaughn says softly. "There's no way Kendall could keep you here, anyway."  
  
He reaches out and puts his hand on Laura's shoulder. Laura shrugs it away and stands up quickly. Vaughn takes a sleepy Brandon from her. She doesn't object.  
  
She's exhausted, he realizes. He reflects on how Sydney never would ask for help until the burden broke her.   
  
Holding Brandon with one arm, he puts the other around Laura's shoulders and leads her out of the room.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
It takes me a few moments to figure out where I am when I wake up. Then I remember. I'm in Daddy's bedroom, and Brandon's curled up asleep beside me. Each of us is wearing one of Daddy's t-shirts, with swallows Brandon and hangs pretty loosely on me, too.  
  
I get up slowly, so as not to wake my brother, and find the clothes I vaguely recall throwing over a chair the night before. As soon as I'm dressed, I go looking for Daddy. I can hear him moving around in the kitchen, and I smell coffee. I wander toward the smell.  
  
"Morning!" he says cheerily as I walk in. "Like coffee?"  
  
"Yeah. Mom let me try some when I was nine, and I've loved it ever since."  
  
"Help yourself," he says, offering me a mug.   
  
He's trying to scramble eggs, but they smell like they're burning.  
  
I poor coffee in my mug and sit down at the little kitchen table. Feeling the hot liquid slip down my throat calms me somewhat.   
  
"Where did you sleep last night? I only saw one bedroom," I comment."  
  
"Couch," he says shortly, trying to scrape the blackened eggs off of the bottom of the pan.  
  
"Oh! Brandon and I would have been fine on the floor…"  
  
"Nonsense. Besides, I've slept in worse places."  
  
Just then, I hear Brandon scream.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Laura almost drops her mug of coffee as she jumps up to get her brother, and she does manage to slosh the drink all over the table.   
  
Vaughn is so surprised that he flips the blob of eggs out of the pan onto the burner. They burn and set the smoke alarms off.  
  
Laura brings Brandon into the kitchen a few minutes later, he too dressed in his clothes form the day before. She looks around, noting the smoky atmosphere. Vaughn is trying to wipe the remaining scorched egg off of the burner. She starts walking around the kitchen opening cabinets until she finds a box of strawberry breakfast bars that's never been opened. She throws the box at her father.  
  
"Forget the eggs," she says with a grin. "I think they're a little overdone."  
  
She gets a wet rag and wipes off the stove. When she notices Vaughn staring at her, she grins again.  
  
"I seem to remember a Thanksgiving dinner that went something like this," she teases.  
  
He grins too.  
  
"It taught your mother not to let me cook," he laughs.  
  
Laura laughs too. It feels good, even though she's very worried about her mother.  
  
"You guys are going to need clothes," Vaughn says when they finally sit down to eat.  
  
"You think?" Laura smirks as she looks down at her green streaked t-shirt.   
  
"I thought we'd go back to your house so you can get some stuff. We won't be able to stay long, though."  
  
"That's fine. It wouldn't take me long to pack us some stuff.  
  
Vaughn glances at Brandon, who's picking apart his breakfast bar and making a mess, and lowers his voice.  
  
"Should he go? I mean, Weiss will watch him while we're gone."  
  
"He probably shouldn't, but I can't leave him alone. You wouldn't want to do that to your friend anyway. He's probably already decided never to watch us again," Laura says. "Besides, I would think you'd think he was unfit to keep us. You never know what we might pick up," she says, watching his reaction.  
  
"You enjoyed that, you little monster," he says evenly.  
  
"You bet I did." She notices a dark bruise on Vaughn's cheek. "What happened?"  
  
He touches it gingerly.  
  
"You should know. You did it. If I didn't know better, I'd suspect Sydney has been giving you lessons." He looks at her questioningly.  
  
She laughs.   
  
"I had a friend in Texas who took karate classes. Sometimes I'd meet up with him after a class and he'd show me some stuff. I could usual pick up a move right off, and I guess he got tired of me beating him, because he stopped letting me try the moves," she says, smiling slightly.   
  
He smiles too.  
  
"You got that from your mother. I've seen her take out men three times her size and twice her weight," he boasts.  
  
Laura glances at her brother.  
  
"Brandon, will you just eat that?" she scolds, eyeing the nearly destroyed breakfast bar.  
  
"I don't like it. It's yucky," he whines.  
  
"It's just like a Pop-Tart."  
  
"This is yucky," he repeats.  
  
Vaughn has noticed that his daughter still refers to him as she did at seven. He likes it in a way, as though they can make up for lost time. But in another way, it's scary for her to be as old as she is and still call him by the childhood name.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
At the same time the trio sits around the table, Sydney sits tied to a chair in a large, empty basement.  
  
A man walks in.  
  
"Does all this look familiar, Sydney? It should. You were right here, just fifteen years ago."  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Creepy, huh? What a cliffhanger! I pride myself on 'em, doncha know. (Anyone ever read the Redwall books by Brian Jacques? If so, you should get that. Basil Stag Hare rules!)  
  
Okay, I'll be a good little fanfic writer and go work on my next evil cliffhanger J… 


	6. The Imperfect Crime

Chapter 5: The Imperfect Crime  
  
Disclaimer: Okay, these marvelous characters aren't mine…(Except Laura and Brandon)  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
"You are Rambaldi's prophecy, Sydney. You are going to help me now."  
  
"Never!" Sydney screams, her voice hoarse. She glares at the man in front of her with obvious hate.   
  
"Oh, you will," Sloane says confidently. "Laura and Brandon would want you to."  
  
She jerks mercilessly against the ropes holding her to the chair.  
  
"What have you done with my children?!? Leave them ALONE!" she shrieks.  
  
"Sydney, Sydney, they'll be fine as long as you cooperate."  
  
With that he leaves.  
  
Sydney spends several minutes jerking painfully and with all her strength against the ropes. She screams wildly all the while. Finally she stops, breathing heavily, and disolves into tears.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Laura is upstairs in her house, hurriedly packing some clothes for herself and Brandon. Her father is keeping Brandon busy downstairs.   
  
"Hurry, Laura, we can't stay much longer!" Vaughn calls softly up the stairs.   
  
"I'm coming!" Laura calls back. She quickly stuffs clothes in the two suitcases. In Brandon's, she adds the old, worn blanket from his bed, a handful of his toy cars, and his box of Ninja Turtle action figures. At least it'll give him *something* to do, she thinks.  
  
"Laura! We need to leave, now!" Vaughn yells urgently up the stairs.  
  
Laura runs down the stairs. Something about his tone worries her. "Are they watching us?" she asks, spotting him at the window.  
  
He decides to be honest with her.  
  
"I think so, Laurie. I've seen the same car go by twice. I'm watching for it. As soon as it passes again, we make a run for it," he says.  
  
She nods and takes Brandon's hand. She stands just out of view of the window. Vaughn notes again how bright she is.  
  
"When we get in the car, you two get on the floor in the back seat and hold on," he whispers.  
  
Laura nods.  
  
"Okay. Just say when."  
  
Vaughn watches the car go down the road and turn the corner.  
  
"Now!" he hisses, grabbing the suitcases from her.  
  
They run out and Laura dives into the back seat, dragging her brother with her.   
  
Vaughn slings the suitcases to the passenger side of the front seat and guns the engine as soon as all the doors close.  
  
Laura screams when she hears gunshots. She hears a couple of them ping off of the back and top of the car.  
  
"Are you okay?" Vaughn yells, knowing none of the bullets pierced any windows.  
  
"I'm fine! Sorry!" she cries.  
  
Brandon is yelling and struggling to get his sister off of him so he can see what's going on, but Laura is too strong. She's yelling at him to be still.  
  
Vaughn maneuvers the car onto a busy main road and yells above the noise that's it's safe.  
  
Laura crawls up into the seat and pulls her brother up.   
  
Laura realizes she is shivering so hard her teeth are clicking together. Her breathing is raspy and she has to try very hard not to cry.   
  
Brandon is sullen because he missed the action.   
  
Vaughn looks in the rearview mirror and pulls the car onto a deserted road and drives until the car in hidden. Then he jumps out and opens the back door.  
  
He holds Laura just like he did when she was just a little girl.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"I'm scared Daddy," I whisper, like I would when I had a nightmare as a kid. "Make it all go away. Bring Mom back. Please."  
  
Daddy holds me tighter.  
  
"I'm trying, Laurie, I'm trying."  
  
What an odd sight we must make for anyone who might see us.   
  
A teenage girl crying like a baby.  
  
A little boy having a pity party.  
  
A father who hasn't seen his kids in six years.  
  
Too bad the secret agent mother isn't here to complete the picture.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Now, Sydney, don't make me go see Laura again."  
  
Sydney stops fighting the ropes and glares at him. Her wrists are raw and painful.   
  
"That's better. Now listen closely. The blueprints of one of Rambaldi's artifacts has been stolen form me. You're going to get it back," he says, pacing in front of her fearlessly.  
  
"You'll be taken to the location and given instructions there. You'll be watched constantly. You'll be bugged. If you try to escape, it will be to find your precious children dead. Don't risk it. Now I'm going to untie you, but if you try anything, we're being watched through the crosshairs of rifles," he says as easily as if he's telling someone on a television set they're being filmed.  
  
She sits completely still while Sloane unties her. She's formulating a plan, and it will do her no good to get herself shot now.  
  
Hours later the van she's put in pulls into an old alley. The back doors open. She's wearing the black uniform and long blonde wig Sloane gave her. He climbs into the back of the van with her.  
  
"You'll enter through this door," he begins calmly, showing her a floor plan of the building.   
  
Soon she's slinking through the halls of the building. When she reaches the office where Sloane told her the blueprint is hidden, she is relieved to see a phone on the mahogany desk. She dials the CIA and taps out a message in Morse code, to avoid it being heard by the bug Sloane planted on her, on the desk:  
  
"Mountaineer. Captured by Sloane. Claims to have kids. Location unknown. Trace."  
  
She leaves the phone off the hook to allow the CIA time to trace it while she breaks into the wall safe.   
  
She makes sure her fingerprints are clearly on a piece of paper and drops it in front of the safe.  
  
She hangs up the phone before sneaking out of the office.   
  
She returns to the van and hands Sloane the blueprint. For good measure, she glares at him hatefully.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Someone is shaking me, trying to wake me, but I cling to sleep as though it's a life preserver.   
  
"Laura, wake up."  
  
I open my eyes and sit up on the couch. I'd insisted on taking the den and Brandon thought sleeping on the floor was an adventure.  
  
"Hmm?" I mumble. I pull the blanket around my legs, since I'm wearing another of Daddy's t-shirts.   
  
"Laura, listen." I'm wide-awake now. "I have to work today. I want you to stay away from windows where someone might see you. You can go in here, or in the kitchen, since the curtains are closed in there. Don't turn lights on and off. You can turn the light on in here because there are no windows." He hands me a cell phone. "If you hear or see *anything*, call the CIA and tell them who you are. They'll put you through to me. If someone knocks on the door, ignore it unless it's me or Weiss or an agent slips an ID through the mail slot, okay? And try to keep Brandon quiet enough so that no one outside can hear him." He gives me a worried look.  
  
"We'll be okay," I assure him, hoping I sound more self-assured than I feel. "If I hear *anything*, I'll call. I promise."  
  
Daddy sighs and looks me in the eye.   
  
"Laura, you're thirteen. You're still a kid. You don't have to be fearless. It's okay to be afraid. Even *I'm* afraid right now," he admits.  
  
I nod and swallow back tears.  
  
"Do you think Mom's okay?"  
  
"I don't know, Laurie. I hope so." He gestures at the cell phone. "If it rings, answer it. It'll either be Weiss or me. I'll call around noon, okay?"  
  
"Okay," I say in a small voice.  
  
I surprise him by leaning forward and putting my arms around his neck.   
  
"Bye, Daddy."  
  
"Bye. Be careful."  
  
I lie down and fall into a dream troubled sleep.  
  
I'm nowhere. I'm in a sort of white infinity. I see Mom lying not too far away. I shake her, but she doesn't wake up.   
  
"Momma! Momma! Wake up!" I scream.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Okay, that was weird, I know. Don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon. 


	7. Fingerprints

Chapter 6: Fingerprints  
  
Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Alias. But if someone wants me to take it off his hands…  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
I open my eyes to see Brandon standing over me.  
  
"You were yelling," he informs me.  
  
I'm shivering slightly, but I try to hide it so he doesn't notice.  
  
"What was I saying?" I ask, almost afraid of the answer.  
  
"You were saying, 'Momma, Momma, wake up, please!' You were loud."  
  
"Did I wake you up?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"I'm sorry. Go back to sleep. I won't do it again."  
  
"I'm awake now. I can't go back to sleep. I wanna go outside."  
  
"No! You have to stay in here, in this room, unless I say you can leave. You have some toys in your suitcase," I say, pointing in the corner of the room.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Mike! You've got to hear this! Come on, man!" Weiss greets him.  
  
"What now?" Vaughn moans.  
  
"Listen to this!" Weiss presses a button on a tape player.  
  
"Tap-tap, tap, tap-tap-tap…"  
  
Vaughn pulls out a pencil and jots down the letters. His eyes widen as he reads the message.  
  
"Where was it? Did you trace it?" he cries.  
  
"Down near San Francisco."  
  
"We have a storage place there!"  
  
"Yeah. They got robbed at the same time we got this call. The blue prints of a Rambaldi artifact disappeared. This is what they found in the upstairs office where the prints where kept in a safe."  
  
He hands Vaughn a copy of a piece of paper that was dusted for fingerprints. There are plenty of them.   
  
"So? We assume this was an amateur…"  
  
"The prints are Syd's," Weiss interrupts.  
  
"She thinks he has the kids! She'll do anything he wants if he threatens to hurt them! He's trying, too. We got shot at yesterday at their house."  
  
"We'll get them, man. Sloane can't hide forever. And Syd's smart. She'll give us leads."  
  
"Where to now? San Francisco?"  
  
"Actually, Kendall wants us for a briefing in ten minutes. I imagine it's about something like that."  
  
Vaughn smacks himself in the forehead.   
  
"I can't go. I can't leave the kids, Weiss. You'll have to find her."  
  
"I will, if that's what Kendall wants," Weiss says. An idea strikes him. "Mike, may be you should talk to Derevko. I mean, we've only had her for three months. Who knows what she might can tell us?"  
  
"You go talk to her," Vaughn snaps instantly. There's been no love lost between Derevko and himself.   
  
"Just an idea," Weiss mumbles.  
  
None the less, after explaining to an outraged Kendall why he'd be more useful protecting the kids, Vaughn goes to the holding cell to see Sydney's mother.  
  
"Agent Vaughn," she says pleasantly, giving him that intensely irritating slight smile.  
  
"Sydney's missing," he greets her.  
  
"That's not news. You haven't been able to locate her in years," she says softly, her smile dimming.  
  
"We found her. When we got there, the place was a wreck. Our children were hiding in their back yard. I want to know if you know if there's any place Sloane might take Sydney."  
  
Irina's smile has disappears completely and is now replaced by a worried frown.  
  
"As I've repeatedly told the CIA, I've had no contact with Arvin Sloane since before the oldest girl was born. You never would tell me what you named her. I had to find out for myself," Derevko says with what Vaughn classifies as a pout in her voice.   
  
"Do you know where he might be keeping Sydney?" he repeats firmly.   
  
Irina steps away from the glass and slowly paces across the cell.  
  
"There is one place I know of that he still has. Sloane kept an FBI agent there for a while years ago. It's in New York." She proceeds to give him directions.  
  
"Agent Vaughn?" she calls as he turns to leave. "You'll let me know when she's found?"  
  
He hears genuine concern and pleading in her voice. It makes her appear to him strangely human and vulnerable.  
  
"Yeah. I will," he promises.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Sydney is not sure how long the plane flight lasted, but she knows it was over three hours at the very least. She does not know where they are now. The car they're in has tinted windows and a limousine-style barrier between the front and back seats. By keeping the barrier up, Sloane effectively prevents her from figuring out where they are.  
  
She can hear Sloane talking in low tones with the driver, but she can't tell what is being said. She's pretty sure she hears up the words "new" and "city" along the way, but she can't be sure they were even in the same sentence.   
  
Sloane lowers the barrier just enough to toss a plain brown paper bag at her.  
  
"Change into this," he orders crisply. "You'll want to look nice here." She can practically *hear* him smirk.  
  
She opens the bag to find a short floral print dress of light material, like someone on vacation during the summer might wear, tan sandals, and a long red wig. Sydney sees the irony of the red wig, as it matches her current temper. She changes quickly, imagining what she'll do to Sloane if he lowers that barrier too soon. The images are oddly satisfying.   
  
Several minutes later when he does lower the barrier, he does so only enough to speak to her.  
  
"This is fairly simple. For the few minutes we will be visible, you are to act as if I'm you're uncle, and we're vacationing from the southern US. Trying to attract attention would be a grave mistake."  
  
"Understood, *Uncle*," Sydney says, spiting it back at him hatefully, her teeth clenched tightly.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"My name's Laura Vaughn, I need to speak to Michael Vaughn," Laura says anxiously.  
  
"Laura? What's wrong?" Vaughn answers the phone.   
  
"Daddy, I think someone's here. Someone was outside the kitchen window!" she says urgently, at the same time trying to keep her voice low.  
  
"How long ago?"  
  
"About two minutes."  
  
"Okay, hold on just a second." He picks up a long-range walkie-talkie. "Weiss, where were you two minutes ago?"  
  
"Outside your house. Why?" Weiss asks innocently.   
  
"Where exactly?"  
  
"Uh, out back, by the kitchen, I think."  
  
"Laura heard you, you idiot!" Vaughn growls. "You're supposed to be watching them, not scaring them to death!" He drops the walkie-talkie before Weiss can respond. "Laura, it's okay. It was just Weiss. He's supposed to be watching the house. I'm going to tell him to come inside, okay?"  
  
"Okay, sorry I bothered you Daddy."  
  
"It's fine. It's Weiss's fault, he should have been quieter. Wait for him to identify himself, okay?"  
  
"Kay. Bye Daddy."  
  
"Bye. Be careful."  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Great. The-Amazing-Weiss-Who-Makes-Things-Worse to the rescue again.  
  
I hear a knock on the door and Weiss calling out, "It's Agent Weiss! Your dad said for me to come in there with you!"  
  
I go to the front door, but deliberately let him bang on the door for a while.  
  
"Prove you are who you say you are!" I finally call out in feigned innocence.  
  
He slips his CIA badge through the mail slot.  
  
"This doesn't look like you," I call as I look through the slot.   
  
"But…It is!" he cries pitifully.  
  
Stifling a laugh, I open the door and step back to remain hidden from view of anyone outside.  
  
From the look on his face, I think I would accurately guess that he thinks I'm an innocent little kid who's genuinely scared and being overly cautious.   
  
Brandon comes running up when Weiss walks into the den.  
  
"Will you play with me?" he asks, pouting in the way only a small child can. "Laurie won't let me go outside!"  
  
"I can't, little guy. I have to protect you and your sister from the bad guys," Weiss replies.  
  
I roll my eyes in frustration as Brandon begins whimpering.  
  
"B-bad guys?"  
  
"Yeah, just like in the Ninja Turtles," Weiss says enthusiastically, not noticing he's scared the kid.   
  
"No, Brandon, we're safe. There are no bad guys here," I break in. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" I spit, glaring at Weiss.  
  
He follows me obediently into the kitchen. I think I shocked him.   
  
"Are you stupid?" I start. "Brandon is scared enough without you introducing new scary ideas to him! Stop it!" I say sharply.  
  
He stares at me open mouthed.   
  
"And I *knew* what I was doing when I told Daddy you called Kendall an ass!" That was a mistake, but I'm on a roll now. "I *knew* that was you at the door, you're just too easy because you think I'm a little kid! You aren't being the least bit helpful! Any time you're around I'm on constant damage control!"  
  
"Feisty little thing, ain't you? You're just like your mother…" Weiss mumbles.   
  
"There you go again! My mom's *missing* and here you are telling me how much like her I am!" I cry, tears falling despite efforts to hold them in check. "You're! Not! Helping!" I sob.  
  
He moves and puts his hand on my shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm not used to kids, I'm trying," he says shyly. "I want to be helpful, but this isn't an everyday situation."  
  
I shrug his hand off and smile weakly.   
  
"I know. I'm sorry, but you do make things hard. You're not great with little kids," I say softly.  
  
"Let's make a deal. You don't try to make me look bad anymore, and I won't…I'll try not to upset your brother," Weiss says.  
  
"Okay," I agree, smiling a little. "We can try that. But if you can't uphold your part of the bargain, I get to pick on you."  
  
"Okay. And, uh, I'll try to be quieter when I'm outside so you guys don't hear me."  
  
I smile gently. He still irritates me, but at least he's trying. It's not really his fault he sucks at playing baby-sitter.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Isn't the end cute? At least I didn't end this chapter with a bunch of loose ends, right?  
  
Criticism or praise (praise preferably) welcomed! 


	8. To Grandmother's House We Go

To Grandmother's House   
  
Disclaimer: Nope, Alias isn't mine. But if someone wants me to take it off his hands…  
  
A/N: I had to re-type this entire chapter, so it took a little longer for me to update than I planned. Sorry! _____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Vaughn snatches up the telephone receiver angrily. He was in the middle of dinner with his long lost kids, for crying out loud…  
  
"Agent Vaughn." It's Kendall. The guy sure knows how to ruin a good meal. "I wanted to inform you that the team found nothing new in San Francisco. But we will be following up on Derevko's intell. She's been a reliable source in the past."  
  
"Thank you," Vaughn says, hanging up quickly.  
  
"What was that?" Laura asks swiftly.  
  
"Kendall. He wanted to tell me he was following up on a new lead." He sees her pressing look. "It doesn't look promising," he admits.  
  
Her face falls.  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Laurie," Vaughn says gently, "We'll find her, somehow. Sydney's smart. She'll help us find her."  
  
Laura bites her lip and nods.  
  
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"What about my grandmother?" I ask a while later.  
  
"What about her?" Daddy asks nervously. I can tell he doesn't like the direction this conversation is going.  
  
"I…I'd like to see her."  
  
"She is in custody." His voice is toneless.  
  
"So? Can I?"  
  
"Yes," he says after a long pause. "But Brandon's too young."  
  
I nod. "When?"  
  
"I can arrange it for tonight," he sighs.  
  
"Who'll watch Brandon? He can't stay alone."  
  
"I'll have Weiss meet us at the op center. He'll watch him."  
  
"Weiss?" I bite my tongue. "Okay."  
  
The conversation, as a whole, is solemn and awkward. To anyone else, it would have seemed very strange that visiting a grandmother is such a sensitive topic. But I've come to realize that these conversations are anything but unusual in my family.  
  
"Watch him, would you?"  
  
Weiss looks up in surprise when Daddy speaks to him. I roll my eyes.  
  
"Uh, sure thing. Hey kid," he says uncertainly.   
  
As Daddy and I want down the hall to my grandmother's cell, my whole body begins to tremble. I'm about to come face to face with my grandmother, the international terrorist.  
  
"Stand here, Laurie," Daddy says, leaving me out of view from the cell.   
  
He walks up to the glass and says something to the woman inside. He doesn't look happy, and it seems to be more than the fact that she's a criminal. It seems more…personal, as though she's done something to him. Finally, he motions for me to come forward.  
  
I walk slowly, suddenly afraid my legs won't hold me anymore. After what seems like years, I turn to face her.  
  
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Derevko stares tenderly at Sydney's little girl. She notices that Laura looks exactly like Sydney, but with those striking green eyes.  
  
"Laura," she says softly.  
  
Laura doesn't know what to say. She *just* found out this woman was alive.  
  
Derevko smiles at the speechless girl.  
  
"I haven't seen you since you were a year old," she adds.  
  
"Do…do you know where my mom is?" Laura stutters.  
  
Derevko's smile fades away.  
  
"No, I don't," she says sadly.  
  
"Who has her? Why?"  
  
"Arvin Sloane." Derevko spits the name out like it tastes bad. "He wants revenge. She got away last time."  
  
"Who is he?"  
  
"He's the man your mother worked for at Sd-6. He's dangerous," she says, realizing that Laura is too much like Sydney to accept anything but the truth.  
  
"Will he…Will he hurt my mom?" Laura says, swallowing over the lump forming in her throat.  
  
Derevko hangs her head.  
  
"If he has reason," Derevko says quietly.  
  
Laura swallows again.  
  
"Do you think I'll ever see mom again?" she asks, her voice cracking. She fixes Derevko with a glare, although it is more of a pleading look.  
  
Derevko looks Laura straight in the eye and holds her gaze for several moments before answering.  
  
"Yes. Sydney is smart enough to get away from Sloane," she says, hoping she sounds sure of it herself.  
  
Tears pool in Laura's eyes as she stares at her grandmother, and when she can no longer keep them from spilling over she spins and runs back up the hall, rounding the corner and collapsing against the wall sobbing. She is unaware that her mother spent time in the exact same spot.  
  
Vaughn chases after his daughter, and he doesn't see the single tear slip down Irina Derevko's cheek as she watches them go.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I'm scared now. I don't know why. My grandmother said she thought my mother could escape from Arvin Sloane. May be it's knowing that he's dangerous, and my mother hasn't been an agent in a long time.  
  
When I voice this fear to Daddy in the hall while he tries to get me to calm down, he tells me that agents never stop being agents. I'm not sure exactly what that means. I know he means it to be comforting, but somehow it is not.  
  
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Sydney finds herself tied to another chair in an unfamiliar basement. She's still wearing the floral dress, but the red wig has disappeared.  
  
She's not sure where she is. All she knows for sure is that it's a large city, most likely an American city. Sloane did a good job of keeping her form seeing any landmarks that she might recognize.  
  
Her only hope is the message.  
  
She managed to get away from Sloane for roughly a minute upstairs on the pretence of going to the restroom. No respectable uncle could follow his niece in *there* without raising suspicions. She left a message scratched on the door of one of the stalls. She can only hope the right people see it.   
  
The people upstairs were well dressed. That is all she knows about the building she's in.  
  
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Oooooh, don't you just hate me? My my, what *is* going on?   
  
Hehehe… 


	9. Too Much

Chapter 8: Too Much  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Alias or any of its characters. But Laura and Brandon are my original creations and I intend to take credit for them.  
  
A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! They definitely speed up the updates! J  
  
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I totally forgot about Grandpa in all the confusion after Mom disappeared. So when I walk into the kitchen the morning after meeting my grandmother, I can't believe it.   
  
I simply stop in the doorway, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open.   
  
He just sits there and looks at me. He's just as cold and stiffly unreadable as I remember. But then he breaks into a wide grin and I run to hug him, squealing like a little kid.  
  
"Grandpa!" I squeal.  
  
"Laura! You're so much bigger than you were then!" he says, sounding just like any other grandparent now.  
  
I remember Grandpa coming to grandparent's day at my school once when I was little. All the other grandparents were playing with everyone else's grandkids, not just their own. But my grandpa scared everyone. He always seemed cold around other people. He does, now that I think of it, act like a CIA agent all the time, even back then.  
  
"I can't believe it's you!" I cry, snapping out of my reverie.  
  
"Laura, I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?" he asks worriedly.   
  
"I'm fine," I mumble, becoming serious.   
  
"I'm sorry," he says quietly, hugging me again.  
  
All through this scene, my daddy stands in the corner, watching us stupidly, as though in awe. The smell of bacon cooking that had hung in the air quickly becomes that of bacon burning. I turn to him.  
  
"Bacon's done," I say, looking at him and somehow keeping a straight face.  
  
"Damn!" Daddy says loudly as he pulls the burning pieces of now very crunchy bacon off the stove.  
  
Grandpa just looks at him. I recognize that look. I gave Weiss the same look when he cursed in front of Brandon.  
  
Finally I laugh. At both of them.  
  
"Daddy," I say with feigned exasperation, "Stop trying to cook. I'm sure Brandon's tired of waking up to smoke alarms going off."  
  
Just then, Brandon walks into the kitchen, still in his pajamas. He looks at Grandpa for a second then runs to hide behind me.  
  
"Laurie, who's that?" he asks in a comically loud whisper. I see the corners of Grandpa's mouth twitch.  
  
"That's our grandpa. He hasn't seen you since you were a little baby. Go say hi," I encourage.  
  
Brandon timidly goes to stand in front of him. He studies him with a childish conspicuousness.   
  
"Hi," he finally says.  
  
"Hi, Brandon," Grandpa says in a friendly tone. Friendly for him anyway.  
  
Brandon cocks his head to one side.  
  
"How do you know my name?"  
  
"I know everything."  
  
Oh no. Not now.  
  
"You do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"Where's Mommy?" Brandon fires, fixing him with a glare.  
  
Grandpa looks first to Daddy, then to me for help. I guess I never asked hard questions when I was little, because Grandpa has no clue how to field this one.  
  
"I don't know," he finally says quietly.   
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Vaughn nearly drops the pan he's holding, and he sees Laura tense as though ready to spring. They both watch as Brandon moves into tantrum mode, full force.   
  
"LIAR!" Brandon shrieks. "You LIED! You don't know ANYTHING!" Tears pour down his face as he beats on Jack's leg with his small fists while Jack sits there, dumbfounded.  
  
Laura swoops in before Vaughn even reacts and drags her brother, kicking and screaming, into the den. The door slams behind them.  
  
Vaughn and Jack stare after them.  
  
Soon they hear Laura yelling in a loud voice, muffled by the closed door.  
  
"How dare you?" they hear. "You know better! And to hit an adult! Your Grandfather! Brandon, you can't do that!"  
  
Vaughn moves toward the den, but Jack raises a hand to stop him.   
  
"She seems to be handling it. She knows more about him than either of us," Jack says quietly.  
  
"Yeah. She seems to handle him well," Vaughn agrees.  
  
They hear Brandon start shouting back, in a much louder and shriller voice.  
  
"YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! YOU'RE NOT MOMMY! HE'S BAD! HE LIED! HE DON'T KNOW WHERE MOMMY IS!"  
  
"BRANDON, SHUT UP!" Laura yells sharply.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Now," Laura starts so quietly that the men can hardly hear her. "You are going to go back in there calmly and apologize. No arguments. Go."  
  
Brandon stomps into the kitchen moments later with Laura close on his heels.  
  
"Sorry," he mutters.  
  
"For?" Laura prompts.  
  
"For hitting and yelling."  
  
"Good enough. Go sit in the den until I come get you."  
  
To the men's surprise, he does.  
  
"Wow," Vaughn mutters.  
  
Brandon stomps into the den and sits down much harder than necessary on the couch.  
  
"Mean old Laurie," he mutters. "Thinks she's Momma. Thinks she can tell me what to do. She's not my momma. She's too little. She's not the boss o' me!"  
  
He kicks at the blanket still lying on the floor. He hears them talking in the kitchen.  
  
"Talkin' 'bout me. Think I cain't hear 'em. I want Momma."  
  
Laura walks in and sits on the couch beside Brandon.  
  
"Brandon," she says softly, "I know you miss Momma. I do too. But you don't want someone to tell her you were bad when she gets back, do you? Mom hasn't seen her Daddy in a long time. Do you want her dad to think you're a bad little boy?"  
  
"Grandpa id Mommy's daddy?" Brandon asks.  
  
"Yes. Now will you be nice?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Okay. You ready to go eat?" Laura takes her brother's hand and pulls him up off the couch.  
  
"Uh-huh." He's smiling now.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Grandpa's mouth twitches again when we walk into the kitchen.  
  
Mom and Daddy always complained when I was little about how "unfeeling" and "cold" and "inexpressive" Grandpa was. He's not, they just don't know him the way I do. Even though to most people his expression never changes, I can tell a difference. To me, he can look happy and sad and proud and disappointed and shocked and amused, just like anyone else. It seems like I'm just the only one who can see it.  
  
This morning, just like he used to, Daddy watches Grandpa for long stretches of time, searching for any sign of emotion. Daddy thinks Grandpa doesn't see him, but he does. I see his eyes dart toward Daddy once in a while, and his eyes sparkle like he's laughing. I think he knows he irritates Daddy, and he likes it.  
  
Brandon eats his breakfast silently, but he's watching Grandpa too. He's not glaring, he's just curious about him.   
  
I want to be happy to see Grandpa, but I can't I'm worried about Mom. I can't help but realize that I wouldn't be here with Daddy and Grandpa if Mom weren't missing. I can tell Grandpa is thinking of the same thing. So is Daddy. Brandon too, but six-year-olds aren't in the habit of worrying for very long.  
  
The silence around the breakfast table is so loud you can almost hear it. It's like we all want to scream and cry, but we each feel like we have to be strong for someone else. Daddy and Grandpa won't cry in front of each other, and they want to support Brandon and me. I have to take care of Brandon; I'm all he has that's familiar here. And Brandon, I think he's afraid of disappointing Mom.  
  
But none of us knows how to act or what to do now. It's just too much.  
  
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Angst-y, I know. But it fits the story. And my mood.  
  
I'm going out of town for a week, and I won't have access to a computer. So I won't be able to update this! It's horrible, I know. I hate to leave you hanging, but hey, at least this wasn't a big cliffhanger! 


	10. Connections

Connections  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Alias, so leave me alone.  
  
A/N: Yay! I'm sooo glad to be back! Thanks for all the reviews while I was gone!  
  
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"Move in on Agent Vaughn's signal," Kendall's voice comes over the headset.  
  
Vaughn's task is to enter the New York hotel and confirm the location of the entrance to the basement.  
  
Vaughn feels as though there are mammoth butterflies in his stomach as he tries to appear to be walking calmly through the hotel. He's praying to find Sydney, yet he somehow knows they won't.   
  
"Move!" he says quietly upon finding the door marked clearly "Basement: Authorized Personnel Only".  
  
A dozen agents with concealed weapons slip into the upscale hotel. As they enter the basement, though, it's obvious no one's there.  
  
Vaughn's disappointment, despite no expectations, is so acute that it's almost enough to make him sick. But they have a job to do. They have to look for evidence of a former inhabitance, whether Sydney was ever there or not.   
  
They find the only clue by complete chance. In the bathroom, one of the female agents finds the phrase "Sydney B. was here" scratched into the door. To anyone who did not recognize the name, it appeared to be the work of some vandalistic teenager.  
  
The entire basement offers no clue, not a single lead. Only the fact that Sydney was there at some point offers any comfort, and not much at that.  
  
Vaughn finds it hard to conceal his emotions on the return flight with the other agents. He eventually starts to worry about what to tell Laura. She knew where he was going, and she's going to expect him to bring her mother home.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Weiss?"  
  
It's late, and he thought I went to bed a long time ago. I only went into the den and went through the motions of trying to sleep, never actually closing my eyes, let alone sleep.  
  
"What is it?" He's startled. I think he was about to doze off.  
  
"When is Daddy supposed to get back?"  
  
"I'm not sure, kiddo." I wince, but I don't correct him. "It'll be late, though. You should try to get some sleep."  
  
I shake my head.  
  
"I can't sleep. I'm worried about Mom," I admit, sitting across the kitchen table from him.  
  
"I know. I am too. She'll be okay, though. Syd's smart. She'll get away somehow."  
  
"I hope so. But it's been a long time since she's been an agent. I know it's been at least ten years; ever since I can remember she's stayed at home or worked at either my or Brandon's school."  
  
"That's true, but your mom's…different."  
  
What was he going to say? That *certainly* wasn't it.  
  
"How so?" I press.  
  
"You ever hear about the time your mom shot the windows out of a jet in order to escape and gained information that shut down an illegal organization?" he asks, grinning. Somehow I feel like he just changed the subject and left me with no way to get back to the original one.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
When Vaughn pulls into his own driveway, it's long after midnight. In fact, it's almost three a.m. he walks into the house to find Weiss asleep in a kitchen chair.  
  
That can't be comfortable, he thinks.  
  
Vaughn smacks Weiss in the back of the head and he wakes with a start.  
  
"You are supposed to be protecting them," Vaughn says simply.  
  
"I was awake!" Weiss claims.  
  
"You were not. How are they?"  
  
"Brandon's fine, he went right to sleep. Laura's…nervous. She only went to bed less than an hour ago. She really wanted to wait up for you. I promised her you'd wake her up where you got here. I spent four hours telling her stories about Syd's various missions. I think I left out most of the parts where she almost got killed, especially in the ones about her saving your butt."  
  
Vaughn smacks his friend again.  
  
"I hate to wake her up if she just went to sleep…" Vaughn starts.  
  
"Do it. If she finds out you didn't do it, she'll blame it on me. And we have a truce at the moment." Weiss is only half joking.  
  
"Okay, man, thanks. I owe you."  
  
"You bet. Now go wake your daughter. She'll be relieved to see you. She never actually said it, but she was worried about you, too.  
  
"You think?"  
  
"Yeah. I do."  
  
Vaughn walks into the den and crouches beside where Laura is sleeping on the floor.  
  
"Laurie, I'm back."  
  
"Daddy!" she cries softly, throwing her arms around his neck. "What happened?"  
  
Vaughn looks down at the floor.  
  
"Come on in the kitchen, we'll talk in there."  
  
Laura rises and follows him silently, suddenly nervous.  
  
"So what happened?" she repeats once she and her father are seated at the table with Weiss.  
  
Vaughn puts his arm around Laura comfortingly.  
  
"She was gone. She'd been there at one time, but she was gone by the time we got there. I'm sorry, Laurie," he adds as she starts to cry.  
  
"No! No!" she sobs, pulling back and staring wide-eyed at Vaughn.  
  
He hugs her gently and lets her cry.  
  
"I'm so sorry," he whispers.  
  
"I should have know!" she sobs against Vaughn's shoulder. "I'm never gonna see Momma again!"  
  
Vaughn hates to see her like this, but he doesn't have the heart to tell her she'll see her mother again, when he himself has the same fear, but based on *evidence*.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
It must be nearly six AM. Daddy and I sat up for a long time, even after Weiss left. I can't believe Mom was there just hours ago, but now she's gone again and the CIA has no idea where. I'm so scared that I'll never see her again.   
  
The whole time I was crying after Daddy told me what happened, I think he was crying too. We never said anything, but we didn't have to. We have the kind of connection that you can only have with you father. If nothing else good came out of that, at least now I know Daddy will tell me what's going on, whether I want to hear it or not.  
  
I hope they find Mom so we can all be a family again.  
  
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I couldn't think of any other way to end this chapter, so here it is. I guess, in a way, it's appropriate.  
  
Tell me what you think. Please Review! 


	11. Freeze!

Freeze  
  
Disclaimer: Sadly, Alias still isn't mine. Now go, read.  
  
A/N: I can't get a hold of my beta reader, so please feel free to point out any blatant type-o's. I'll try to fix them.  
  
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Vaughn sits silently at the kitchen table, holding a now cold cup of coffee. He managed to convince Kendall to let him stay with the kids. He's worried, *very* worried, about Laura. It's only 7:30 now, but he can hear her moving around in the den. She probably slept less than an hour, he thinks. He can do that; She can't.  
  
He stands and pours himself a fresh cup of coffee so that Laura will have no way of knowing how long he's been sitting there.  
  
"Daddy?" Laura asks tentatively, stepping into the kitchen.  
  
"What is it?" He asks gently, nervously wondering what's on her mind and how he's going to handle it.  
  
"You're still up?" she asks with a hint of surprise in her voice. He had sent her to get some sleep, yet he had stayed up.  
  
"Yeah," he admits lamely. "Can't sleep."  
  
"Are you thinking about Mom too?" she asks softly, stubbornly blinking back tears.  
  
"Yeah," he replies quietly as she sits across from him.  
  
"Can…Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure," he said, his voice not reflecting his anxiety about what the question may be.  
  
"Do you miss her?" She looks up at him hopefully.  
  
Vaughn fights back tears before he can answer.  
  
"I never stopped missing her. From the day she left, there hasn't been a day when I haven't wished we were all together like we should have been," he says, fighting to control his voice. Laura mistakes his struggle for anger.  
  
"You're mad at her?" she asks in a small voice, dangerously close to her breaking point.  
  
"Mad!?! I love Sydney! I love you and Brandon! And she took you away and just disappeared! Of course I'm mad, but I'd give anything to have us all back together again! Anything!" he insists, hating the look of betrayal in her eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispers, her voice barely audible.  
  
"I just don't want you to doubt how much I love you and your mother. I will do everything I can to find her, and so will the CIA."  
  
"I know, I just…I don't want to think about it." She looked down at the floor. "That's awful, isn't it."  
  
"No. I understand. Believe me, I know," he admitted.  
  
"Really?" she said, looking up.  
  
"Yeah. It's like, may be if I don't think about it, it'll all just go away. Right?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"I've been trying that for years. You want to know the truth? It doesn't work. But that doesn't stop me from thinking that way," he added.  
  
They sat in silence for several minutes before he finally stood up.  
  
"Laura, go get some sleep. I will, too. We won't do Brandon any good if we're both exhausted," he says.  
  
"Okay," she says, standing up. She gives him a weak smile before going back to the den.  
  
Vaughn reluctantly goes into his own room. He knows he won't sleep, but sitting alone in the kitchen downing coffee isn't his best option, either.  
  
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I came back to the den and I'm trying to sleep, but I can't. I doubt Daddy's sleeping either. Brandon's out like a light, but he doesn't know much about what happened to Mom. All he knows is she's gone.  
  
I hear someone moving around in the front of the house. Daddy must have gotten back up. For some reason, my mind jumps back to the handgun I found hidden in a drawer this morning. Then I realize why. Daddy didn't come down the hall to *get* to the front of the house.  
  
I spend several seconds debating with myself. If someone broke in, it would be a good thing to have the gun handy. But if it's just Daddy, he'll have a fit that I even know where it is, let alone the fact that I got it out.  
  
Finally, I move silently to the drawer and pull out the gun. I know it's loaded because I checked that earlier. I slip back across the room and back into my bed. I'll look less threatening if I appear to be sleeping.  
  
There's another soft sound. He's in the kitchen!  
  
I finger the handle of the gun and try to keep calm. it's a long time before I hear another noise. This time he's headed down the hall.  
  
Daddy!  
  
I slip out of my makeshift bed and, gun in hand, follow the figure down the hall. He looks strangely familiar.  
  
The figure stops in front of Daddy's door. As he opens it, he looks directly at me.  
  
"Freeze!" I yell, bringing the gun up to point at him.  
  
To my surprise, my voice blends with another yelling the same thing. I stare at the figure, but he yields no weapon and hadn't shouted. Keeping the gun trained on the man, I move to see inside Daddy's room just as Daddy steps out, also with a gun trained on the man.  
  
"Laurie!" he shouts at me, his eyes never leaving his target. "What the hell are you doing?!?"  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
This guy was going after you!" Laura shouts back. "I had to do something!"  
  
Vaughn glances quickly at his daughter. She too is watching the man carefully. He flips on the bedroom light, and they can see their unwelcome visitor clearly. His first impression of the man is that he wouldn't want to get in a fight with him. He's solidly build, and dressed in all black, right down to black gloves on the hands held in the air and a black ski mask pulled down over his face.  
  
"Mr. Milner?" Laura says suddenly. She's rewarded by the man starting to turn his head before checking his action. "He lived on our street in Texas!" Laura explains to Vaughn.  
  
Vaughn caught the man's reaction as well. "Sloane must have had people watching you, even then."  
  
A voice calls out from the den. "Laurie, where are you?"  
  
"Go," Vaughn orders. "Keep him away from here."  
  
Laura drops the gun to her side, clicking on the safety as she runs. She catches Brandon just before he reaches the hall.  
  
"I'm right here," she soothes, shutting the door.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Vaughn snaps at his captive.  
  
The man remains silent. Vaughn picks up his cell phone and calls Kendall for reinforcements.  
  
"…I've got a prowler here, with suspected ties to Sloane…no, no injuries…they're fine…alright, thanks."  
  
Vaughn tosses the cell phone onto a table and focuses on how to restrain the man without a scuffle that would bring Laura out and into it.  
  
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Ooooh…What will he do?   
  
Please review! I prefer praise, but constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks! 


	12. Bullets

Bullets  
  
Disclaimer: Nope. Alias still isn't mine.  
  
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"Laurie, what was all the yelling?" Brandon asks me.  
  
"We had an unexpected visitor," I mutter.  
  
I still hold the gun, but I manage to keep it hidden from Brandon. If he was scared before, he'd be hysterical if he saw the gun. But the gun has the opposite effect for me; it's comforting to know it's there.  
  
Suddenly, there's a loud noise in the hall, like a fight had started. The man I once knew as my reclusive, but pleasant, neighbor Mr. Milner comes racing down the hall and out the front door. I come to the door of the den just as Daddy comes barreling down the hall. He runs to the door as though to run after the man, but instead he turns around and comes back to the den.  
  
"Damn," he mutters. "He's long gone now."  
  
We stand in the doorway of the den for a long time in silence. Brandon wanders over to stand with us.  
  
"Daddy?" I say finally. "What just happened?"  
  
He shakes his head.   
  
"I don't know," he mutters. "I better call Kendall." he wanders off in search of his cell phone.  
  
I lead Brandon back to the couch.  
  
"Try to go to sleep. It's too early to be up."  
  
"But I'm awake now! I can't go back to sleep!"  
  
"Please, Brandon. Go back to sleep."  
  
"But I wanna know what happened! Why is Daddy mad?"  
  
"Please, just go to sleep. I'll tell you in the morning, I promise."  
  
He pouts, but as soon as he lies down he falls asleep. I go to look for Daddy. Brandon was right, he did look upset. And…distant. It was weird. Unfortunately for me, he met me at the door.  
  
"We have to talk about this," he says, leaning over to snatch up the gun off of the table I laid it on.  
  
I nod and follow him out of the den. He must expect our discussion to get loud, because he leads me down the hall to his bedroom and shuts the door. His room is further from the den than the kitchen is.  
  
"Daddy, please…" I try to explain.   
  
"No!" he snaps. "You're a smart girl, Laura. You knew I didn't even like you knowing about guns, yet you grab one and chase after what was most likely one of Sloane's hit men! You could have been killed! You…"  
  
"No!" I shout. "*You* could have been killed! After all this time, I get to see you again," I say, trying to keep my voice lower. "I'm not about to sit by while someone kills you and not do a damn thing about it!" I rarely curse, and this is definitely a bad time to start. "Daddy," I cry, "I was careful! I could have protected myself! If I hadn't found the gun, I *never* would have come after him! I…"  
  
"Stop it! I don't want you playing with guns! I'm a trained CIA field agent, I can take care of myself! I don't need a thirteen year old girl who's never handled a weapon before trying to protect me! What you did was stupid, Laura. You could have been killed!"  
  
"I don't care!" I shriek. "I had to do something!" Hot tears flood my eyes. "if he'd killed you and I'd sat by and done nothing, knowing that gun was there, *it would have been my fault*!" Tears pour down my face.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"What if you'd gotten hurt? Don't you think that's how I'd feel?" he asks, pleading for the hysterical girl to understand.  
  
"But I didn't!" she cries.  
  
"And neither did I," Vaughn says, suddenly much calmer than before.   
  
Vaughn puts his arms around his daughter and she turns to wrap her arms around his neck. Then she steps back and stares up at him.  
  
"I'm sorry," she says softly. "I just couldn't sit by and let something happen."  
  
"I know," Vaughn replies guiltily. "That's the same reason I got so mad. I don't want you to get hurt."  
  
"I can take care of myself, you know," she says, with considerably less conviction than she would have used only days earlier.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Laura, I'll make you a deal," Vaughn says over lunch. Once they'd gone to sleep, they'd slept until 11:00.  
  
"What?" she asks, glad to break the tense silence.  
  
"You swear to me that you'll let me handle things like what happened last night from now on unless absolutely necessary…" He paused, letting that sink in. "And I'll take you to the CIA shooting range and we'll see what you know."  
  
"Really?" Laura asks in disbelief. "You will?"  
  
Vaughn nods.  
  
"I promise! I only want to be able to protect myself! And then I'll know for sure if I can shoot…"  
  
"That's what this is. I want both of us to know exactly what you're capable of," Vaughn says seriously.  
  
"When?" Laura is excited, even though she knows this is serious. She's always had an interest in guns, even though her mother lectured her endlessly about how dangerous they were. Probably *because* she lectured her endlessly.  
  
"As soon as possible," Vaughn replies. "Today, if I can make the arrangements. Which shouldn't be a problem since Kendall knows what you did last night," he adds pointedly.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Now that we're really here, I'm pretty nervous. I've never shot a gun before, never even handled one until last night. May be Daddy's right. May be I was stupid to mess with that gun.  
  
As soon as we walk in, the man running the place walks up to Daddy. He gives the two of us those protective earmuffs, and Daddy shows him the CIA issue gun he's going to let me use.  
  
Before we start, Daddy explains that the targets are on tracts hanging from the ceiling. They're made of cheap wood, so they show where the bullets hit. He won't tell me anything else. He's really testing to see how much I know. I suppress a grin as he watches me go through checking to be sure the gun is loaded and everything. I know he expected to have to help me. The look on his face says plain as day that he's surprised. I can't help a cocky grin in his direction.   
  
Daddy stands behind me while I watch for the first target. When it swings down, I shoot. The grouping is terrible. Four of the shots were embedded in one or the other shoulder, while two missed altogether. And the target was nearly on top of me before I got off all six shots.  
  
I watch Daddy out of the corner of my eye as I reload. He's not at all surprised that my accuracy is really bad. He does seem impressed that I manage to reload without help, even if it did take nearly five minutes with me fighting the whole time. I wouldn't have asked for his help if it had taken hours, and he probably wouldn't have offered, either.  
  
The second time, all six shots hit the target, at least. Only one is in the chest, and then only just barely. By the fifth round, though, Daddy is definitely impressed. Five of the shots hit in the chest, and at least two of them would have been fatal.  
  
I admit it, I'm proud of myself. To have never even touched a gun before and have five chest shots on the fifth round fired must be pretty good.  
  
"So?" I ask, removing the ear muffs.  
  
"You're better than I expected," he admits reluctantly. "You're fairly accurate, very accurate for an amateur, and your time is good. A lot of people have trouble getting the shots off fast."  
  
"And?" I prompt.  
  
"And…I'm impressed," he sighs.  
  
"Thank you," I say smugly.  
  
"That doesn't mean you can carry a gun," he says sharply. "Your promise still applies, even if you could get a tight grouping in under three seconds, which you can't. This is still a last result."  
  
"I promised, and I'll keep my promise," I say defensively.  
  
He holds my look for a long time before he finally looks away, satisfied that I mean it.  
  
"Come on, Weiss and Brandon will tear the house apart if we don't get back," he says.  
  
"Let me shoot one more round. Please?"  
  
"Okay. One more. I don't want you getting too cocky," he agreed.  
  
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Cute, no? Please review! 


	13. Drifting

Drifting  
  
Disclaimer: Nope. Don't want it anymore, either. Think of all those death threats against J.J. Abrams…  
  
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She has reason to be cocky, Vaughn thinks later.  
  
Laura managed to get a pretty close grouping, even if it had been in a shoulder. It took him three months of off and on weapons training as a recruit to get that good, and he grew up with BB guns. He's pretty sure Laura never had those, either.  
  
Upon arriving home, Vaughn is happy to note that at least Brandon likes Weiss. The guy is a bit unusual, but he's Vaughn's best friend. Laura and Weiss seemed to be getting along better, but he believed they did have some sort of truce, though Weiss appeared to be joking.  
  
Although, he admits that he may be a little bit jealous. Brandon wants far less to with Vaughn than he does Weiss.  
  
Laura notices that fact as well, and she also sees how it bothers her father.  
  
"Daddy?" Laura says quietly as they stand in the doorway of the den watching Brandon show off his toy cars to Weiss. "Brandon will come around eventually. The idea of having a father is just new to him. All of this is."  
  
Vaughn merely nods.  
  
"It bothers you," Laura states, trying to get some sort of response.  
  
"Yeah. It does," Vaughn mutters defensively. "But then, he doesn't remember me, so I shouldn't be so offended, right?"  
  
Laura is silent.  
  
"I talked to Kendall today," Vaughn continues in a less-ruffled tone. "There's a new lead on Sloane."  
  
"There is?" Laura asks, hope shining in her eyes.  
  
"Nothing much. Someone claims to know where he was two weeks ago. Doesn't do us much good, but there's always the chance he left behind some loose ends. Doesn't seem likely, though," he says dejectedly.  
  
"Oh. I thought…I hoped…" She stops, unable to voice her thought. Vaughn seems to read her mind.  
  
"I hoped we'd find her this time. I'm doing everything I can, Laurie, and so's the CIA. I had hoped we'd find her a long time ago, but things take time in this game," he says honestly.  
  
"Time she may not have…I miss her," Laura adds, her voice so low that Vaughn almost doesn't hear her.  
  
"So do I. And for me it's been six years," he mumbles softly, feeling guilty for not being able to comfort Laura.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Sydney awakes bound and gagged, lying on a cold cement floor. As she becomes more conscious she realizes she's in a tiny room with cement walls. A single naked bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving off only dim yellow light.  
  
Her head is throbbing, and she wonders if it's from being sedated or if she hit her head on something. The last thing she remembers is passing out in the basement in the city.  
  
Now, not only is she bound and most likely locked in, but she also has no idea where she is. For all she knows, Sloane may have left her to die.  
  
She tries to stand after a few minutes. But the effects of what she's now sure was a drug have not worn off, and she becomes extremely dizzy and sinks back to the floor.  
  
For the first time since she was kidnapped, she allows her thoughts to drift to her children. She's sure Sloane doesn't have them; he would have known that he had to prove himself. He'd only used that ploy to get her to do what he wanted that time. He'd have another tool the next time.  
  
She wonders if her children are safe, or if they're wondering around alone.  
  
An image of Vaughn creeps into her mind. Though she has no reason to think they're with him, she hopes they are. It's high time they see him again.  
  
The heavy metal door swings open and a man Sydney doesn't recognize walks in. he holds a needle, but she's too weak to fight, and any movement on her part causes a sudden wave of nausea. Soon, she sinks into an almost welcomed darkness.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Vaughn leaves his children alone again the next day with the usual instructions. Laura makes sure she's up before Brandon to enforce the strict rules.  
  
When Brandon wakes up, Laura is curled up in an armchair with a picture album on her lap. The album holds pictures of her parents when they'd first been dating. To Laura, they both look so young.  
  
A noise outside momentarily scares them.  
  
Must be the poor sap they put on surveillance today, Laura thinks.  
  
Minutes later, two masked men stand in the doorway of the den. Laura gasps.  
  
"You take the boy," one of the men mutters. He moves to drag Laura off the chair.  
  
The men drag the children outside, both of them too shocked to react.  
  
May be it was the sun in her eyes that shook Laura out of her shock. May be it was tripping and falling onto the gravel driveway and thinking she was glad she'd worn jeans. May be it was the look on Brandon's face. Whatever it was, Laura finally reacted.  
  
She snapped her elbow upward, connecting with some part of the man's face. She stomped down *hard* on his foot. She jabbed her elbow into his stomach. Then she hit the ground. Hard. So hard it knocked the breathe out of her.  
  
Stunned and more than a little dizzy, Laura is shoved into the back of a waiting car beside her brother. Moments later, Weiss is shoved into the car along with them. Laura can see several red marks on one side of his face that look suspiciously like the marks a fist might leave behind. The fact that they had him as well served to make Laura even more fearful.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
His breathing is ragged, as though as though he's been hit very hard in the ribs and it hurts to breathe. His hands are tied behind his back, but otherwise he seems okay.  
  
Brandon is crying quietly, with only an occasional whimper.  
  
I'm trying not to be sick, and my stomach is not cooperating.  
  
The car pulls away and drives for a long time before it pulls onto a side road behind a large van, one like a mover might use. All three of us are thrown into the dark interior and left there. As the van begins to move, we talk quietly.  
  
"Are you guys okay?" Weiss asks, his voice shaking as though he's in pain.  
  
"Um-hum," Brandon mumbles.  
  
"I'm fine," I reply, dismissing his worry. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Don't worry about me," he says evasively.  
  
"I said, are you okay?" I repeat forcefully. "You don't sound like it, and you didn't look it, either. Please answer me."  
  
"I'll be okay," he insists. "Don't worry about me."  
  
"You still don't sound okay," I mutter.  
  
I'm scared and I need to know everyone's okay. Weiss is not making that easy. He's hurt, but he won't tell me he is. I'm pretty sure those goons were only after Brandon and me, and they only took Weiss because he got in the way. I won't be able to stand it if Weiss gets hurt because of us. He's not so bad.  
  
The van drives for a long time, and Weiss still won't admit to being hurt. But I just know he is. I feel as though the three of us are just drifting along now, unable to control it. We keep hoping for something or someone to stop us. But there's nothing in sight now.  
  
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Depressing, I know. But I spent forever trying to decide where to end all the chapters, and it would be very self destructive to change it now. I'm already on the brink of insanity…  
  
Please Review! Agree, disagree, praise vehemently, criticize, you choose. 


	14. Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned  
  
Disclaimer: Still don't own it.  
  
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Vaughn is frantic. When he got home a little after five, no one was there. No Laura. No Brandon. No Weiss. When he found the picture album lying haphazardly on the floor, pages bent and torn, he called Kendall. Laura wouldn't have left it like that.  
  
Now all he can do is wait for the investigators and evidence techs to arrive.  
  
Sydney is missing.  
  
Now so are his children and his best friend.  
  
May be Sydney was wrong all those years ago when she said everyone she loved got hurt. May be it was he who was cursed all that time.  
  
The team arrives much sooner than Vaughn expected. The only thing they find inside is the photo album; there are no fingerprints anywhere. Outside, they find an area where a fight obviously took place. Plants are crushed and bent, and there's a long stretch where an adult appeared to have been dragged along the ground. Weiss, Vaughn thinks grimly.  
  
Not a single lead. Three more people are missing and they don't have a single lead.  
  
Vaughn suddenly remembers the promise he made to Irina Derevko the night he took Laura to see her. He promised if anything happened he would tell her. So that's where he goes as opposed to hanging around the empty house.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Irina Derevko sits on the floor with her back to the glass when Vaughn walks in. He stubbornly says nothing until she stands and turns to face him.  
  
For once, she doesn't greet him with her characteristic self-satisfied smile. Instead, she wears a worried frown.  
  
"Has something happened?" she asks softly, studying her face.  
  
Vaughn nods, but it takes several moments before he manages to speak.  
  
"Laura, Brandon and Weiss are missing," he says simply, fighting to keep his voice from cracking.  
  
Irina's eyes widen and she gasps. It occurs to Vaughn that he's never gotten that much of a reaction from her before.  
  
"What happened? How?" For the first time ever, he hears panic in her voice. She blinks back tears.  
  
"I don't know. I came home, and they were gone!" he cries.  
  
Irina turns and walks toward the opposite wall. She stares at it for a moment, then she takes a deep breath and returns to the window.  
  
"When you told me Sydney was missing," she says softly, her voice surprisingly calm. "I was surprised, but not particularly worried. She knows how to handle Sloane." She swallows. "She knows how to stay alive. Eric Weiss is a capable agent, but he doesn't have a history of encounters with Sloane. Laura is smart and observant, but if she's as much like Sydney as I think she's impulsive. Brandon is still a baby almost." She looks intensely at Vaughn. "You have to find them, before it's too late."  
  
A single tear rolls down her cheek.  
  
"I know," Vaughn chokes out.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
The van stops after a long time. None of the three prisoners can give even an estimate of how long they rode.  
  
The two men that initially abducted them are joined by two more men.  
  
"I'll take the boy," the man with an interesting bruise around one eye and a slight limp says.  
  
"Fine," one of the new guys says, watching the other two drag Weiss away. He's sure he can handle that slip of a girl.  
  
He gets a big surprise when her elbow smashes into his nose. He, however, manages to sweep her feet out from under her before she does any further damage.  
  
The man already sporting a black eye laughs and drags Brandon off.  
  
The man yanks Laura up off the ground and waves a gun under her nose. "Try anything else, you little bitch, and I might just have to blow your brains out," he snarled.  
  
She nods and swallows back the lump that formed in her throat.  
  
Weiss is the first to reach the cement-lined room. With his hands still tied behind his back, he's shoved in to land face first on the hard floor. It knocks the air from his lungs, and he doesn't even try to move.  
  
Next, Brandon is literally thrown in. he lands hard and screams.  
  
Immediately after Brandon, Laura is shoved in. she trips over a still form, and at first she thinks it's Weiss. But when she turns her head he's beside her. Brandon is huddled in the corner with his eyes clamped tightly shut, as though by not seeing it he can ignore the horror they've been tossed into.  
  
Laura sits up and unties Weiss's hands. He sits up shakily and the two of them turn at the same time to see the body lying motionless on the floor.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
The CIA team somehow managed to trace them as far as the van. Since Vaughn went to see Irina, he's not sure how, and he doesn't care. Once they got an APB out on the van, they'd traced it to a small town in Nevada.   
  
Sitting in the town's only coffee shop, it occurs to Vaughn that a small town with few places to hide may not be an advantage. The close-knit community is not quick to talk to authorities. Three hours of twelve agents questioning everyone they saw had revealed nothing. One of the agents had managed to convince the dogged Vaughn to take a break; otherwise, he'd have stayed out there until someone turned up with Sydney.   
  
Vaughn's spirits lift considerably when he notices one of the agents talking excitedly with one of the customers in the coffee shop. The man approaches Vaughn with a wide grin on his face.  
  
"She says the van pulled in behind an old warehouse! I have directions!"  
  
Vaughn snatches up one of the group's walkie-talkies.  
  
"All agents to the coffee house in five minutes!" he snaps. "No exceptions!"  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"Mom!" "Sydney!" Laura and Weiss cry out simultaneously.   
  
Despite both of their physical pain, they both scramble across the floor to Sydney.  
  
"Is she okay?!?" Laura cries.  
  
Weiss holds two fingers against her neck. "She's fine," he sighs with relief.  
  
Just then, Sydney moans and opened her eyes. Her eyes widen when she takes in the faces hovering over her.  
  
"Be still," Weiss orders, working to untie the gag while Laura unties her hands and feet.  
  
"Laura?" Sydney gasps as soon as the gag is gone.  
  
"Mom!"   
  
Mother and daughter cling to each other for several moments, until Laura pulls back.  
  
"Mom, what happened? Are you okay?" she cries.  
  
"They drugged me," Sydney says slowly. "I'll be fine, as soon as it wears off."  
  
Laura jumps up and kneels in front of her brother.  
  
"Brandon, open your eyes. It's okay," she coaxes. "Open your eyes."  
  
When he finally opens his eyes, he sits still as though he can't believe it.  
  
"Mommy!" he shrieks, shooting across the small room and into her lap.  
  
Sydney holds hi close, rocking back and forth gently. Then she looks closely at Weiss.  
  
"Oh my God!" she mumbles, staring at the ugly bruises.  
  
"I'm fine," he whispers hoarsely. "Are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"Not right now," she admits as Brandon crawled out of her lap. She leans her head back against the wall and closes her eyes. "Right now I feel like I could be sick."  
  
"It's Sloane, isn't it?" he asks.  
  
"Yes," she mumbles miserably. "I haven't seen him in a while, though. It could have been days."  
  
"Your mother said he's still dangerous," Laura says suddenly. Sydney looks at her like she just remembered that her daughter should not know who Sloane is, and she should not have spoken with her mother.  
  
"You…spoke…to Irina Derevko?" Sydney asks in disbelief.  
  
Laura nods. "Daddy took me."  
  
"What do you know about her?" Sydney asks cautiously.   
  
"Not everything. There was something Daddy didn't tell me. Something about him," Laura says, hoping her mother would explain.  
  
Sydney decides that, at this point, her daughter may as well know it all.  
  
"She killed his father," she says in a low voice so raspy that Laura is unsure she heard correctly.  
  
"My…grandmother…killed my…grandfather?" Laura says brokenly, trying to make sense of it.  
  
"Yes. Michael and I had to live with that," Sydney says softly. "I think the only thing that kept us sane was that I hate her as much as he does."  
  
"But you named me after her," Laura says dazedly.   
  
"I told you, Laura. I named you after the mother I lost when I was six years old. After that, she was *not* my mother," Sydney says through clamped teeth.  
  
Laura nods.  
  
"We need to find a way out of here before they drug us all," Weiss says seriously looking back and forth between Laura and Sydney.  
  
Sydney nods in agreement.  
  
"I can't do much damage sober," Laura comments. "I'll be useless if they drug me."  
  
"I wouldn't think you'd know how to do *any* damage," Sydney returns.  
  
Laura glances to Weiss for help.  
  
"Oh no," he says, holding up his hands. "You explain. Everything, that book included. And the shooting range. I'm going to try to figure out how to get out of here."  
  
"What book?" Sydney asks quickly, before Laura has a chance to come up with a clever answer.  
  
Laura proceeds to tell her mother about the gun book, the karate, the gym , the time spent at the shooting range, and, at a look from Weiss, the break in.  
  
Sydney sits in a stunned silence through it all.  
  
"Oh God," she murmurs to herself. "It won't end. Dad did it to me, but I didn't do anything. Why?" she asks, to Laura's relief finally talking to someone.  
  
"I don't know," Laura mutters. "I just felt like I needed to know how to protect myself."  
  
"Get up," Sydney orders, standing herself.  
  
Laura obeys.  
  
To both Laura and Weiss' amazement, Sydney started showing Laura the basic combat skills all new field recruits learn. They don't say anything, but it's clear to Weiss and Sydney that Laura knows many complicated techniques, but those are useless without the basics. Laura picks it up fast.  
  
"Laura, don't fight unless you have to," Sydney says as the pair settles down on the floor. "There's no shame in running," she adds, even though she herself had seldom run away from a fight.  
  
"I won't, "Laura says. "I've had my butt kicked twice today. That's enough to last me for a while. But it sure feels good to know you left him hurting, even if you lost," she adds, thinking about the guy she hit in LA.  
  
"Sydney," Weiss interrupts. "Do you know where we are?"  
  
"No," she replies, shaking her head. "I hoped you did."  
  
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What will they do? Please review!  
  
Aw, man. That rhymed! I hate when that happens… 


	15. The Chase

The Chase  
  
Disclaimer: If I owned Alias, I wouldn't have to post my measly stories on fanfiction.net. Not that I mind, but hey, we can all dream, right?  
  
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The CIA team is positioned around the old warehouse, several agents to every possible exit. Even though the building is old, the whole structure seems to be made from concrete.  
  
"Remember," Vaughn hisses into the walkie-talkie, "If you see Sloane, don't hesitate to shoot!"  
  
All four teams enter the building at the same time. B- and C-teams take out posted guards, but there are no guards posted at D- and Vaughn's A-team's entrances. It leaves Vaughn feeling slightly uneasy.  
  
Vaughn's team moves down a hall, throwing open every door as the go. Two of Sloane's gun-toting thugs jump out of one room, but Vaughn's team is fast. The next door Vaughn opens reveals a small concrete room. He finds Sydney, Laura, Brandon, and Weiss sitting on the floor in the room.  
  
"I found them!" he yells in relief.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life.   
  
Daddy stands in the door for a moment and starts to come in, but he stops.  
  
"Are you all okay?" he asks quickly.  
  
"We're all fine," Weiss assured him, glancing around.  
  
"Then get out of here. Don't look back. Just get out." He disappears and comes back with two more guns. He hands them to Mom and Weiss. "Go!" he snaps, realizing none of them moved.  
  
Then he's gone.  
  
The four of us take off, Weiss in front, then me and Brandon, then Mom. A guard comes out of nowhere, aiming a gun in our direction. I gasp as he fires. When the man hits the ground, his gun skids across the floor. As we run by, I lean down and scoop it up. It still has five shots.  
  
"Laura!" Mom shouts behind me. "Put that down!"   
  
I don't.  
  
Suddenly, an older man runs out of a room and down another hall. Weiss stops cold, and so does Mom.  
  
"Sloane!" Mom shrieks and takes off after him. "Get there out!" she calls back to Weiss.  
  
"Syd, come back!" he yells.  
  
I race after Mom.  
  
"Laura, stop!" Weiss yells frantically.  
  
"Get Brandon out!" I shout back, running all out to come up beside Mom.  
  
"Laura, no! Go back!" she cries.  
  
"I'm not letting you go alone!" I yell.  
  
"It's too dangerous!"  
  
"I know!"  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Sydney and Laura race after the fleeing figure. He's amazingly spry for someone his age, Laura thinks.  
  
The chase continues through a maze of halls, until Laura and Sydney have no idea how to get back. And then Sloane finds himself cornered.  
  
He spins and raises his gun, but so do Laura and Sydney.  
  
"You're not leaving here alive!" Sloane shouted desperately.   
  
Sydney realizes she's never heard that tone, no matter how hopeless the situation should have been for him. Then she realizes that he's not reliable; he could just decide to shoot any moment.  
  
Out of nowhere, Sloane fires off a shot. His immediate concern is not the child.  
  
Laura sees her mother fall backward with the impact of the bullet.  
  
"No!" she shrieks, simultaneously aiming her weapon before Sloane has a chance to aim at her.  
  
Sloane knows Laura had no training with weapons. So he does not the shot she fires to come near him, let alone hit him. But it tears through his shoulder. Before he even hits the floor, Laura gets off two more shots. The second one hits him in the heart, but had that one not killed him then the last one would have done the job.  
  
As soon as Sloane is down, Laura spins to find her mother on the floor. Bright red blood flows from the bullet wound.  
  
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Review! The more reviews I get, the sooner the next chapter will be up… 


	16. To Make Amends

To Make Amends  
  
Disclaimer: It's mine! All mine! *Ahem* Right…Sorry, I don't own it. Alias isn't mine.  
  
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Laura is relieved to see the bullet hit her mother's shoulder, and she's still conscious.  
  
"Mom!" she squeaks, dropping to the floor beside Sydney and allowing the gun to slip from her grasp.  
  
"It's okay," Sydney gasps, forcing a smile and reaching up with her uninjured arm to touch Laura's arm. "Help me up."  
  
Laura struggles to pull her mother to her feet. She expects them to start trying to find their way out, but Sydney staggers toward Sloane instead. She stands over him for only a second before returning to where Laura is standing.  
  
"He's dead," Sydney announces quietly before they turn to find their way out.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
"What the hell do you mean you don't know?!?" Vaughn yells at a cornered Weiss just as Sydney and Laura emerge from the building.  
  
"She saw Sloane, and Laura followed them! I couldn't stop them! I couldn't put Brandon in the line of fire to go after them! They knew what they were doing!" Weiss defends frantically.  
  
Vaughn pins Weiss against the wall of the building.  
  
"Daddy!" Laura calls out before anything happens.  
  
"Michael!" Sydney cries, clutching at her shoulder as they run.  
  
Vaughn spins around. Despite their ragged appearance, he acknowledges he's never seen anything more beautiful. Neither has Weiss, for that matter, especially since they just saved him from what was about to be a brutal confrontation.  
  
"Mommy!" Brandon yells, keeping pace with Vaughn as they run to meet them.  
  
They all collide into a group hug, but Sydney gasps sharply when Vaughn hits her shoulder.  
  
"Syd!" he cries, stepping away. "What happened?"  
  
"Sloane is dead," she says, sobering from the excitement of a moment ago.  
  
"I shot him," Laura says in an unnaturally high voice to no one in particular, as thought she just realized what happened.  
  
"What?!?" Vaughn says incredulously as Laura begins to sob.  
  
Sydney shakes her head at him.  
  
"I shot him!" Laura says again, her voice rising with every word.  
  
"Laura, you had to," Sydney says softly. "He would have killed you *and* me if you hadn't. You saved my life."  
  
"I, uh, hate to interrupt," Weiss says, suddenly only feet away from them. "But I think Syd should see a doctor. Soon."  
  
"He's right," Vaughn says firmly, putting one arm around Sydney and the other around Laura and leading them toward one of the waiting cars. Neither of them resists.  
  
******************************************************************************************  
  
Hours later, all five of us are sitting in the den in Daddy's house. Mom's arm is in a sling, and she hardly moves it. Brandon is limping around, having twisted his ankle and playing it up dramatically. Weiss is sore and stiff; you can tell by the way he moves, even though he won't tell anybody. Daddy and I bear no physical wounds. In fact, Daddy is fine now simply because he has Mom back with him. But I don't think I'll ever get over this. I fell asleep on the drive back from Nevada. I dreamed that I saw Sloane fall again, and that was haunting enough, but when I turned to Mom she was dead. I woke myself up screaming.  
  
Mom and Daddy both think they should talk to Kendall about having me see one of the CIA psychologists. Mom especially says they're all really helpful. I don't want to talk about this with anybody, but if I have to I'd rather not be in the CIA building. When we stopped there upon returning to LA, the building seemed even more intimidating than it did the night Mom disappeared.  
  
"…So what do we do now?" Daddy is asking as I drag myself back to the present.  
  
"I'm not leaving again. I couldn't take it," Mom says softly, looking only at Daddy.  
  
She looks happy. Really happy. She hasn't looked this happy - this in love - since we left. Funny. It took a bullet in her arm to drag her back where we belong.  
  
"You're right about that. You're not leaving; I won't let you," he says lovingly, carefully putting his arm around her possessively.  
  
"How did Kendall react to my part in it?" I ask suddenly. I hadn't been allowed in the debreifing.  
  
My parents look at each other. I think they're glad to hear me say something; I haven't said much since we left the doctor in Nevada. Then they laugh.  
  
"He was speechless!" Mom laughed.  
  
"I don't think he's ever sputtered like that before," Daddy adds.  
  
I can't help but grin. The image of that pompous, overbearing, arrogant man sputtering helplessly is too much.  
  
"Guess I should be going," Weiss mumbles awkwardly.  
  
"Noooo!" Brandon whines.  
  
I look up at him.  
  
"Okay. We'll walk you to the door," Mom says. "Laura, will you get your brother ready for bed?"  
  
I lay out the blankets on the couch in a hurry.  
  
"Come on, Brandon, go to sleep," I order half-heartedly.  
  
"NO! I wanna tell Mommy good-night!" he cries.  
  
"She'll come in here in a second, okay? Just lay down, please?"  
  
Surprisingly, he does. Weiss is just about to walk out the door when I come out of the den. Mom and Daddy must be in the kitchen.  
  
"Weiss," I call, stopping him. Then I lower my voice. "Can I talk to you for a second?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," he says, looking at me curiously. "What is it?"  
  
From the look on his face, I'd have to say he's remembering how our last conversation started: with me yelling at him.  
  
"I just wanted to say, I'm sorry. I never gave you a chance. I jumped on you from the very beginning. I mean, our first encounter ended up with me smacking you," I say softly, my voice not carrying a hint of the humor of the last sentence.   
  
"It's not all your fault," he says comfortingly. "I did make some stupid mistakes. And…dragging you out of your hiding place kicking and screaming didn't make a very good first impression," he adds, smiling.  
  
"I'm serious," I say firmly, though softly. "I'm not looking for excuses. I was wrong."  
  
My voice must have shook.  
  
"Hey," he says softly, awkwardly putting his hand on my shoulder. "It's okay. Considering the circumstances, I think I can forget about it. Don't worry about it, okay?"  
  
I smile nervously.  
  
"Okay. I…I just wanted to make sure you weren't…mad, or something." I smile wider. "You're not so bad."  
  
He laughs.  
  
"You're not so bad either, kid!"  
  
I just smile. He did that deliberately, so what else could I do? But he just laughs harder.  
  
"I'll see you around, Laura. I don't hold grudges. I'm not that easy to get rid of," he kids.  
  
I walk into the kitchen after he leaves.  
  
"Mom, Brandon wants you to tell him good-night," I say tonelessly, sitting at the table.  
  
"What was that about?" Daddy asks gently.  
  
"I just had to tell him something."  
  
"You okay?" he asks after a long silence.  
  
"I'm fine," I lie. I can't stop hearing the guns go off.  
  
Mom comes back in a moment later. She takes one look at me and jumps into mother-mode.  
  
"What's wrong, Laura?" she asks quickly.  
  
"Nothing," I mumble, swallowing the lump the forms in my throat.  
  
"Something is. Talk to me, honey," she pleads.  
  
"I'm just…I don't know. I killed him," I add in a whisper. "I keep seeing it…hearing it. It's like I keep living it all over again," I continue, still in a whisper.  
  
"Laura, it's okay," Mom insists. "You were *protecting* yourself."  
  
"You'll be okay," Daddy adds tenderly. "You'll get over it. You'll forget."  
  
I shake my head vigorously. I know they're trying to help, but it's just driving home that I *can't* forget.  
  
"I'll never forget," I mumble, closing my eyes.  
  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
  
The end. I think. If I get enough reviews begging for more, I might continue it for one more chapter. I'm not sure I like ending it here. I'm a big fan of *happy* endings, myself. 


End file.
